If You Want To Try and Change The World

She followed the gaze of her friend to see themselves in the mirror, her friend in full profile and her lingering behind.
"Hey," she said gently at the sudden tears rolling down her friend's cheeks. "What's wrong?"
"I don't like myself, or the way I look," said her friend in a whisper. "I've tried. I've tried to accept it. But... But I just... can't."
"Who cares what you look like?" she said.
"I do Hallie!"
"Well, yes, ok," said Hallie, "but that shouldn't matter. What should matter is what's in here." She touched a hand to her chest, and her friend smiled. "In here is what really counts. And in here, you're as stunning as a supermodel is on the outside. But for all we know, the supermodel could be as ugly as on the inside."
"Thanks Hallie," said her friend, finally turning to face her. "Why can't everyone be like you?"
"I don't know. I wish they could be. The world would be a much better place then, hey?"

"Why don't you like yourself, Mel?" Hallie asked.
"Look at all these marks on my arms," said Mel, glancing at herself in the mirror once again. Lightly, Hallie brushed her fingertips along her friend's forearm before stepping back a little, meeting Mel's eyes in the mirror. "Those scars..."
"Are ugly." Mel cut in before Hallie could finish, frowning as she squinted her eyes, stepping closer to the mirror as if these two things, done in combination would magnify her view.
"No," said Hallie, gently yet firmly holding her friend's gaze. "I was going to say that those scars, they could be ugly. You could choose to think of them that way, or, they could be reminders."
Finally, Mel's gaze rose from the floor to meet Hallie's eyes in the mirror. "Reminders?"
"Reminders of your past. Reminders so that you don't make the same mistakes over again."
"That's clever," Mel said, a smile cracking her slightly down turned lips.
"It's a way of embracing it," Hallie said simply. "You say that it would be great if everyone could be like me, right? With the rosy coloured vision of the world? The not caring about people's outer appearances, but rather, what's on the inside?" Mel nodded. "This could be a first step in it. I think that the first step in changing the world is trying to alter our own perceptions."
Mel shrugged. "That's all you can do really, isn't it?"
Then, it was Hallie's turn to nod. "The best way to change the world, if that's what you want to try and do, is to lead by example. Focus on you, because that's the only thing you can control."
"Everyone needs to be more like you, Hallie."
"No, because that would take away their uniqueness if they were exactly the same as me."
"If we all had your positive outlook, the world would be nicer."
"Maybe," said Hallie, exhaling lightly, "but Mel, you've got to focus on yourself first, before you even think about trying to lead by example."
"How do I do that?"
"We've got to get you liking yourself," said Hallie. "Work on believing those scars are reminders of the mistakes you've made, still there so you remember not to make those same mistakes again."
"Right," said Mel. "Reminders..."