--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a mirror across from me, and I…" description: "\"“There is a mirror across from me, and I check my reflection in it before heading home. Despite the bone-deep fatigue and the growing fear and frustrat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/534/victoria-schwab-1505_falling-apart_there-is-a-mirror-across-from-me-and-i-c_826733.jpg" --- # There is a mirror across from me, and I check my… ![“There is a mirror across from me, and I check my reflection in it before heading home. Despite the bone-deep fatigue and the growing fear and frustration, I look…fine. Da always said he’d teach me to play cards. Said I’d take the bank, the way things never reach my eyes. There should be…” quote by Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/534/victoria-schwab-1505_falling-apart_there-is-a-mirror-across-from-me-and-i-c_826733.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/534/victoria-schwab-1505_falling-apart_there-is-a-mirror-across-from-me-and-i-c_826733.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/534/victoria-schwab-1505_falling-apart_there-is-a-mirror-across-from-me-and-i-c_826733.jpg) > ““There is a mirror across from me, and I check my reflection in it before heading home. Despite the bone-deep fatigue and the growing fear and frustration, I look…fine. Da always said he’d teach me to play cards. Said I’d take the bank, the way things never reach my eyes. There should be something—a tell, a crease between my eyes, or a tightness in my jaw. I’m too good at this. Behind my reflection I see the painting of the sea, slanting as if the waves crashing on the rocks have hit with enough force to tip the picture. I turn and straighten it. The frame makes a faint rattling sound when I do. Everything in this place seems to be falling apart.”” [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator uses a mirror to confront inner fatigue and fear, seeing signs of strain while trying to appear fine. **In simple terms:** Self‑inspection reveals hidden stress despite a brave front. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and address inner turmoil. Themes self‑awareness fatigue fear appearance reflection Mood melancholic introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy - personal journaling - performance arts Key Concepts psychological stress self‑image coping mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - What signs of stress do you ignore? - How can you turn self‑reflection into action? A Different Perspective Ignoring internal signs can worsen breakdowns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Heading home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heading-home/) [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) ## Related quotes > [When checking out ur reflection in the mirror make sure u see the one u want it to be… A GOOD REFLECTION IS BEYOND…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dlo/when-checking-out-ur-reflection-in-the-mirror-make-sure-u-see-the-one/) DLo > [“Past experiences are not always an ideal or good reflection of the present or the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/past-experiences-are-not-always-an-ideal-or-good-reflection-of-the/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Be a good reflection of their personality to the worth, the people you will be forced to follow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/be-a-good-reflection-of-their-personality-to-the-worth-the-people-you/) Mak\_786 > [“One's conclusion that you are not good enough is a reflection of their own interpretation of what "good enough" is. Your own personal concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-jacent-mpalyenkana-ph-d-mba/one-s-conclusion-that-you-are-not-good-enough-is-a-reflection-of/) [Dr. Jacent Mpalyenkana, Ph.D. MBA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-jacent-mpalyenkana-ph-d-mba/) > [Make sure the outside of you is a good reflection of the inside of you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/make-sure-the-outside-of-you-is-a-good-reflection-of-the-inside-of-you/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Kids are like a mirror, what they see and hear they do. Be a good reflection for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-heath/kids-are-like-a-mirror-what-they-see-and-hear-they-do-be-a-good/) [Kevin Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-heath/) > [Now I'm heading home for a nooner, which is what I call having pancakes for lunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz/now-i-m-heading-home-for-a-nooner-which-is-what-i-call-having/) [LIZ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz/) > [“The most dangerous hours to be on the road are between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., especially on weekends. Those are the hours when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-hough/the-most-dangerous-hours-to-be-on-the-road-are-between-11-p-m-and-2-a/) [David L. Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-hough/) > [“In case you haven't noticed,rodeos are a serious business.Careless cowboys tend to break bones,or even their skulls,as hard as that may be to believe."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-ryan/in-case-you-haven-t-noticed-rodeos-are-a-serious-business-careless/) [R.C. Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-ryan/) > [“I walked round the block thinking I’d think about it, but my legs were heading home, and sometimes you have to accept that your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-walked-round-the-block-thinking-i-d-think-about-it-but-my-legs-were/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [All travel is circular. I had been jerked through Asia, making a parabola on one of the planet's hemispheres. After all, the grand tour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/all-travel-is-circular-i-had-been-jerked-through-asia-making-a/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [When there is no place that you have decided to call your own, then no matter where you go, you are always heading home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mus-soseki/when-there-is-no-place-that-you-have-decided-to-call-your-own-then-no/) [Muso Soseki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mus-soseki/) > [Heading home to cook for my hubby... He wants food for when he lands... Only athletes can eat that late!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khloe-kardashian/heading-home-to-cook-for-my-hubby-he-wants-food-for-when-he-lands/) [Khloe Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khloe-kardashian/) > [“A.J. HAS A DISCUSSION WITH DANNNY ABOUT HER DREAMS… “Are we talking nun here, A.J.?” “um..kind of.” He exhales, “How can you kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-riva/a-j-has-a-discussion-with-dannny-about-her-dreams-are-we-talking-nun/) Renee Riva > [Tucker: You guys going to Milwaukee? Guy: Yes sir, heading home after a vacation. Tucker: Did you know there are midgets in Milwaukee? \[The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/tucker-you-guys-going-to-milwaukee-guy-yes-sir-heading-home-after-a/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) ## More by Victoria Schwab > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Perhaps it is in our best interest to... to surrender rather than waste words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/perhaps-it-is-in-our-best-interest-to-to-surrender-rather-than-waste/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“The dead are silent, and objects, when they hold impressions, are quiet until you reach through them. But the touch of living is loud.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/the-dead-are-silent-and-objects-when-they-hold-impressions-are-quiet/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Having something and losing it, it's so much crueler than never having had it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/having-something-and-losing-it-it-s-so-much-crueler-than-never-having/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“People are made up of so many small details. Some—like the smell of cookies baking—we can recreate. Or at least try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/people-are-made-up-of-so-many-small-details-some-like-the-smell-of/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“I suppose it doesn't matter how they get out. All that matters is they do. And when they do, they must be found. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-suppose-it-doesn-t-matter-how-they-get-out-all-that-matters-is-they/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“The silliest things shatter you. A T-shirt discovered behind the washing machine. A toy that rolled under a cabinet in the garage, forgotten until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/the-silliest-things-shatter-you-a-t-shirt-discovered-behind-the/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“What a mess. Truths are messy and lies are messy, and I don’t care what Da said, it’s impossible to cut a person into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/what-a-mess-truths-are-messy-and-lies-are-messy-and-i-don-t-care-what/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“People aren't smart when it comes to the dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/people-aren-t-smart-when-it-comes-to-the-dead/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Let them think you a demon or a god,” she said. “Let them fear you. It does not matter.” “It matters a great deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/let-them-think-you-a-demon-or-a-god-she-said-let-them-fear-you-it/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“What do schools do that for?” he grumbles. “What’s the point of summer if they give you homework?” “Exactly!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/what-do-schools-do-that-for-he-grumbles-what-s-the-point-of-summer-if/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“I am broken the way most writers are, stories leaking through the cracks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-am-broken-the-way-most-writers-are-stories-leaking-through-the/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Do you ever wonder why music brings a soul to surface? What makes beauty work as well as pain?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/do-you-ever-wonder-why-music-brings-a-soul-to-surface-what-makes/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“But there was something else, too, a strange excitement at the idea of playing normal, and every time he tried to untangle how he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/but-there-was-something-else-too-a-strange-excitement-at-the-idea-of/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Maybe one day the words will pour out like so many others, easy and smooth and on their own. Right now they take pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/maybe-one-day-the-words-will-pour-out-like-so-many-others-easy-and/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) [Explore all 231 Victoria Schwab quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) ## More Falling apart quotes > [Shes talking to angels counting the stars, making a wish on a passing car dancing with strangers falling apart waiting for superman to pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/shes-talking-to-angels-counting-the-stars-making-a-wish-on-a-passing/) Patience > [Sometimes when things seem to be falling apart, they are actually falling into place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-when-things-seem-to-be-falling-apart-they-are-actually/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's always a race against time. I don't think for one moment that life gets better. How can it? One's body starts to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-grahame/there-s-always-a-race-against-time-i-don-t-think-for-one-moment-that/) [Gloria Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-grahame/) > [The truth will form and fall apart again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-slean/the-truth-will-form-and-fall-apart-again/) [Sarah Slean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-slean/) > [If you're feeling pain, express that to the Lord. If you're feeling worried, express those worries. One passage that gives me comfort is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/if-you-re-feeling-pain-express-that-to-the-lord-if-you-re-feeling/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Or maybe a person is just made up of a lot of peopleMaybe we’re accumulating these new selves all the time. Hauling them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jandy-nelson/or-maybe-a-person-is-just-made-up-of-a-lot-of-peoplemaybe-we-re/) [Jandy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jandy-nelson/) > [We're not falling in love. We're just falling apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-re-not-falling-in-love-we-re-just-falling-apart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Where were you When everything was falling apart? All my days Were spent by the telephone That never rang And all I needed was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-fray/where-were-you-when-everything-was-falling-apart-all-my-days-were/) [The Fray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-fray/) > [Prayer keeps us together in a Nation that's falling apart... NIGERIA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/efiosiugbore/prayer-keeps-us-together-in-a-nation-that-s-falling-apart-nigeria/) @efiosiugbore > [Russia can fall apart. It's not because of the oil prices ... It's because what sticks a country together is a common interest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilya-ponomarev/russia-can-fall-apart-it-s-not-because-of-the-oil-prices-it-s-because/) [Ilya Ponomarev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilya-ponomarev/) > [It's a transformative experience to simply pause instead of immediately fill up the space. By waiting, we begin to connect with fundamental restlessness as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/it-s-a-transformative-experience-to-simply-pause-instead-of/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [You don't see heroism, humanity and hope like you do in a horror story. Horror celebrates the kind of friendship that keeps you standing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/you-don-t-see-heroism-humanity-and-hope-like-you-do-in-a-horror-story/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-was-full-of-a-hot-powerful-sadness-and-would-have-loved-to-burst/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [There’s one thing that’s been 'learned' maybe from Tunisia and Egypt that I think is a mistake. And that is that the existing ruler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-sharp/there-s-one-thing-that-s-been-learned-maybe-from-tunisia-and-egypt/) [Gene Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-sharp/) > [Once upon a time I was falling in love, but now I'm only falling apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-i-was-falling-in-love-but-now-i-m-only-falling-apart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 918 Falling apart quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is a mirror across from me, and I check my reflection in it before heading home. Despite the bone-deep fatigue and the growing fear and frustration, I look…fine. Da always said he’d teach me to play cards. Said I’d take the bank, the way things never reach my eyes. There should be something—a tell, a crease between my eyes, or a tightness in my jaw. I’m too good at this. 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