--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the dresser mirror, my face looks the…" description: "\"“In the dresser mirror, my face looks the same, but I feel something happening around me, some change as palpable as weather. Stuck in the mirror are m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/189/jo-ann-beard-41442_mirror_in-the-dresser-mirror-my-face-looks-the_2938834.jpg" --- # In the dresser mirror, my face looks the same, but I feel… ![“In the dresser mirror, my face looks the same, but I feel something happening around me, some change as palpable as weather. Stuck in the mirror are mementos from my childhood—red and yellow ribbons for various underachievements, a brown corsage from grad school graduation, a curling and faded…” quote by Jo Ann Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/189/jo-ann-beard-41442_mirror_in-the-dresser-mirror-my-face-looks-the_2938834.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/189/jo-ann-beard-41442_mirror_in-the-dresser-mirror-my-face-looks-the_2938834.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/189/jo-ann-beard-41442_mirror_in-the-dresser-mirror-my-face-looks-the_2938834.jpg) > ““In the dresser mirror, my face looks the same, but I feel something happening around me, some change as palpable as weather. Stuck in the mirror are mementos from my childhood—red and yellow ribbons for various underachievements, a brown corsage from grad school graduation, a curling and faded picture of me petting a deer in Wisconsin—which is now over. I wandered through it and came out the other side. It’s a stark feeling. Like getting to the last page of a book and seeing ‘The End.’ Even if you didn’t like the story that much, or your childhood, you read it, you lived it. And now it’s over, book closed, that long-ago deer you petted in the Dells as dead as the one in The Yearling.”” [Jo Ann Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-beard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on the bittersweet realization that childhood and its memories are finite, like a book ending, prompting a sense of closure and transition. **In simple terms:** Childhood ends, feelings shift. Key Takeaway Embrace the ending, look forward. Themes nostalgia transition reflection Mood melancholic reflective Type literary personal When to use this quote - graduation ceremony - moving out - career change - personal growth Key Concepts identity impermanence memory Questions to Reflect On - What does the "end" of your childhood mean to you? - How can you honor past experiences while moving forward? A Different Perspective The ending may feel loss, not all closures are clear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) ## Related quotes > [“I felt a mixture of hallowness at seeing the end of a world, and satisfaction at getting to witness that world's completion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/singnsong/i-felt-a-mixture-of-hallowness-at-seeing-the-end-of-a-world-and/) singNsong > [“Seeing the end coming doesn’t mean you can dodge it, fix it, stop it. We”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/seeing-the-end-coming-doesn-t-mean-you-can-dodge-it-fix-it-stop-it-we/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [Finishing games has been something I'm really proud of, seeing something through to the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicia-day/finishing-games-has-been-something-i-m-really-proud-of-seeing/) [Felicia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicia-day/) > [“This is a trap I cannot ride away from. I guess there are those times in life. It's like staring at the ground as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/this-is-a-trap-i-cannot-ride-away-from-i-guess-there-are-those-times/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [Sanity returns (in most cases) when the book is closed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/sanity-returns-in-most-cases-when-the-book-is-closed/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“And even with the book closed, the voices do not stop--there are echoes and reverberations that seem to leap off the pages and mischievously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/and-even-with-the-book-closed-the-voices-do-not-stop-there-are-echoes/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [“I pretended to be an open book, but I was closed off and conceited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-j-ginger/i-pretended-to-be-an-open-book-but-i-was-closed-off-and-conceited/) Coco J. Ginger > [The book is closed, the year is done, the pages full of tasks begun. A little joy, a little care, along with dreams, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arch-ward/the-book-is-closed-the-year-is-done-the-pages-full-of-tasks-begun-a/) Arch Ward > [“I closed the book and closed my heart along with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/staci-hart/i-closed-the-book-and-closed-my-heart-along-with-it/) [Staci Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/staci-hart/) > [While we read a novel, we are insane—bonkers. We believe in the existence of people who aren't there, we hear their voices... Sanity returns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/while-we-read-a-novel-we-are-insane-bonkers-we-believe-in-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [As far as I'm concerned, the book's never closed with Sabbath!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ward/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-the-book-s-never-closed-with-sabbath/) [Bill Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ward/) > [“Bastian looked at the book. 'I wonder,' he said to himself, 'what's in a book while it's closed. Oh, I know it's full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ende/bastian-looked-at-the-book-i-wonder-he-said-to-himself-what-s-in-a/) [Michael Ende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ende/) > [I wonder, what's in a book while it's closed. 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He watches the mute television screen and I watch him. The planes and ridges of his face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-beard/we-sit-silently-in-our-living-room-he-watches-the-mute-television/) [Jo Ann Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-beard/) > [“The way everything seems to be working out right now, I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up dead before the night is over.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-beard/the-way-everything-seems-to-be-working-out-right-now-i-wouldn-t-be/) [Jo Ann Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-beard/) > [“Sometimes when you're cruel to others, it's because you've gotten yourself into a situation you can't get out of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-beard/sometimes-when-you-re-cruel-to-others-it-s-because-you-ve-gotten/) [Jo Ann Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-beard/) > [“In addition to Linda and me, there's a brother, a strange little guy named Bradley, obsessed with his own cowboy boots. He paces areound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-beard/in-addition-to-linda-and-me-there-s-a-brother-a-strange-little-guy/) [Jo Ann Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-beard/) > [“On the very tip of his tongue is his Firerancher. Thin as tissue paper, it looks like the moon in the daytime sky. Suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-beard/on-the-very-tip-of-his-tongue-is-his-firerancher-thin-as-tissue-paper/) [Jo Ann Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-beard/) > [“Instead of slapping her head, I do what they tell you to do: count to ten. Only I do it the gifted way: 123+456+789+10.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-beard/instead-of-slapping-her-head-i-do-what-they-tell-you-to-do-count-to/) [Jo Ann Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-beard/) > [“...within the souls of the awkward and the overlooked often burns something radiant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-beard/within-the-souls-of-the-awkward-and-the-overlooked-often-burns/) [Jo Ann Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-beard/) > [“It feels weird right at this moment to not be anybody's sidekick. Hard to explain, but when I look at the moon, it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-beard/it-feels-weird-right-at-this-moment-to-not-be-anybody-s-sidekick-hard/) [Jo Ann Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-beard/) [Explore all 10 Jo Ann Beard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-beard/) ## More Mirror quotes > [Hate nothing in another human being because your eyes is made looking at others but never at your own self except in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/hate-nothing-in-another-human-being-because-your-eyes-is-made-looking/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [I always look in the mirror to see somthing beautiful but all I see is me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/13-yearold/i-always-look-in-the-mirror-to-see-somthing-beautiful-but-all-i-see/) 13 Yearold > [I fell upon Jenny Saville's work and loved these great big pieces she was painting, celebrating all things flesh and woman, and with great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-fell-upon-jenny-saville-s-work-and-loved-these-great-big-pieces-she/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [I wasn't happy with my body and I knew I had to do something to make myself feel better. I was looking at myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-pivarnick/i-wasn-t-happy-with-my-body-and-i-knew-i-had-to-do-something-to-make/) [Angelina Pivarnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-pivarnick/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Our fashion for us, it's an expression; first of all of life, I put all of myself in my fashion. Sometimes it's good, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefano-gabbana/our-fashion-for-us-it-s-an-expression-first-of-all-of-life-i-put-all/) [Stefano Gabbana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefano-gabbana/) > [Think of me as a mirror. How you treat me is how I will treat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/think-of-me-as-a-mirror-how-you-treat-me-is-how-i-will-treat-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even If I Don’t See it Again Even if I don’t see it again.–nor ever feel it I know it is–and that if once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/even-if-i-don-t-see-it-again-even-if-i-don-t-see-it-again-nor-ever/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [“nations never see themselves clearly in the mirror, much less when war preys on their minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/nations-never-see-themselves-clearly-in-the-mirror-much-less-when-war/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mirror, mirror, here I stand. Who is the fairest in the land?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mirror-mirror-here-i-stand-who-is-the-fairest-in-the-land/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Maybe it begins the day you pledge allegiance, face the flag and suddenly clutch your left clavicle because you find a tender puff of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/maybe-it-begins-the-day-you-pledge-allegiance-face-the-flag-and/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [“Words are free. It does not mean you should abuse them. Be kind with them. They will mirror your actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadinet-tekie/words-are-free-it-does-not-mean-you-should-abuse-them-be-kind-with/) [Hadinet Tekie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadinet-tekie/) > [I turned back to the mirror, seeing that there were no lines on it. It was empty. "What happened to my mirror?" I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-turned-back-to-the-mirror-seeing-that-there-were-no-lines-on-it-it/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [If you long for peace, act in peace and harmony. If you want the world to change, start with the person in the mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-long-for-peace-act-in-peace-and-harmony-if-you-want-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 2,876 Mirror quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the dresser mirror, my face looks the same, but I feel something happening around me, some change as palpable as weather. 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