Oh Narcissus, Nobody Understands You Like I Do!

I realized today, along with many other days in my past, that I am a narcissist. I look in the mirror every, single time I pass one. I stare at myself and say 'damn I look good' on a regular basis. I glance sideways to catch my reflection in just about every store window I pass, and I absolutely love being the center of attention, no matter how shy or embarrassed I act. I am slightly obsessed with myself, and I find new ways to compliment myself frequently. These traits make me a narcissist.

The word narcissist comes from the mythical character Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool and neither ate nor slept just so that he could stare at himself all day. He eventually died. Therefore, the word narcissistic means to be vain or conceited.

I feel however, that a little bit of vanity is not a negative character trait and I'm tired of feeling guilty because I want to enjoy my own reflection. While yes, Narcissus perhaps went a little overboard with the self love, the lesser known part of the story is that a nymph cast a spell on him. She had fallen in love with him and didn't receive the sentiments in return, so she punished him with the curse of unrequited love. Is it his fault the first gorgeous face he saw was his own in a pool of water? So, he fell in love with himself and got a bad rap because it killed him, does that mean we shouldn't love ourselves with as much gusto as long as we remember to eat once in a while too?

I strongly feel that in life, the best person you can fall in love with is yourself. I personally, have worked very hard to feel happy with who I am, what I look like, and how I act every day. Everyone should have the gumption and the freedom to become the person they could fall in love with so that they can walk through life with their head held high and feel proud of who they have become. While my actions and the feelings I feel about myself do fall under the category of vain, I am proud to present myself and my appearance to others, so yes, I will look in the mirror and tell myself congratulations as many times as I want to. If that makes me a narcissist, I guess I'll just have to make sure to not fall in the pool, but I'm sure not going to stop staring.