She's just a girl
Trying to forge a path in this cold world
She's just a girl
Battered with bleeding hands trying to stand
She's just a girl
Who forgot herself long ago

Hushed whispers, dark and cold
Echoing with harsh static
Loud, buzzing, grating
Words.

Words that pull me forward and back, up and down
I am a puppet with strings bound upon my wrists, cutting into my skin, making it bleed
Not that it matters
I already have scars

My arms are sore, legs numb from this show
They are laughing at me, frowning at me, sneering at me
Aren't they tired? Don't they want to go home?
I'm tired.

Bruised and broken, the show must go on
These cursed strings, they are making me drown—yet they are my lifeline
If I cut these strings, stopped this never-ending routine, what will they think of me?
The show must go on.

I remember her, the girl who stood tall, eyes alight with stars
Because she reached for the sky, palms up, knowing nothing could stop her
She smiled at the mirror because her reflection was bright
I don't know her anymore

I remember her, the girl who ran free, arms open to the world
Those ugly words couldn't invade her mind, she was impossible to break
She smiled at the mirror because she was invincible
I miss her more than anything in the world

She's just a mother
Who loves her daughter and wants nothing but the best
She's just a mother
Who wants to protect her baby girl from the world
She's just a mother
Who watched her daughter fall apart

My daughter, she got into UCLA! An achievement, I know
My daughter, her room is stacked with awards, shiny and golden—
My daughter. . .she's struggling. Demons in her mind she can't control.
But I can't tell them that. I can't risk that.

They always call me, asking about the numbers that now define her worth
I dodge their questions, their probing investigations, I know they just want to compare
But I can see that's what's breaking her, her self image is the same glass as her mirror
But instead, it's shattered

The pressure to be perfectly picturesque binds me like a rope, snaking around my wrists
Hands tied, my mechanical mouth repeating the same excuses so they won't look down on her
Since when did navigating conversations with my friends
Become a stilted game of chess?

My daughter, she's working harder than she ever has, yet I must hide her struggles with iridescent drapery, so that only the glitter gleams
So that the waves of darkness that are dragging her below the surface are masked by a glimmering facade
Because depression and anxiety do not incite awe
In a world of appearances I just smile and nod

Reputation is fickle and heavy, a burnished gold glowing faintly
It weighs down upon us, limbs trembling, muscles straining
Hands up, shoulders tensed, precarious and breathless
Don't let it fall.

She's just a girl
Who's trying find herself
She's just a girl

Their words don't blare as loudly anymore
Because they don't matter like I thought they did
Because I've found someone else who matters more
The girl I lost long ago

I remember her, the girl with bright eyes and an uninhibited smile
A rosy, sheltered mind of love and magic—sparks visible in her eyes
She smiled at the mirror, because she loved the reflection before her
I want to make her proud

I remember her, the girl with bright eyes and a confident smile
A rosy mind of courage and assurance—happiness visible in her eyes
She smiled at the mirror, because she loved the reflection before her
Because she was
Proud.