Teenager in the Mirror by Mikenda Early

Do you remember going through puberty, that awkward stage where acne breaks out all over your face and your body starts to change seemingly overnight? Well, I do. I remember feeling like my head was bigger than my body, my nose was too large for my face, and to top it off I was tall and skinny with big feet. When you’re going through puberty, it seems like you go to bed one night and don’t recognize the person standing in the mirror looking back at you the next morning. Michael Jackson was no different than any of us yet we treated him as such. Michael Jackson went from being an adorable little boy who wowed us with a voice that seemed to be before his time to a teenager trying to adjust to the changes in his body. He went through puberty, this awkward and often deeply personal phase of life, right before the world’s eyes. Can you imagine how hard it must have been to embrace those physical changes with the world watching, catching every pimple, bump and blemish? To make matters worse, the media scrutinized and judged him for going through something that is so natural. Watch the following video to get a better understanding of how Michael felt about this time in his life in his own words.

It saddens me that Michael felt as though he was going through this alone. We ALL have felt ugly in some way at one point in our lives, but we had a close friend to confide in. I wonder who Michael shared his concerns and insecurities with. Just think about what he felt for a minute; wanting so badly to stop what was happening to his body, but he couldn’t because it was apart of life, not knowing who he could really trust with how he felt, not loving the person staring back at him in the mirror because people thought the “new” Michael was ugly, and having to smile and bare the silent pain and confusion he felt within. Michael Jackson struggled with these new physical changes just like many of us did during the puberty stage.

Even today a lot of our children feel just like Michael Jackson not knowing where to turn or what resources are available to help them in their transition from a child to an adolescent. I do believe if Michael Jackson wasn’t in the limelight he would have handled the changes his body was going through a lot better. He probably would have accepted the way his facial features were changing and learned to love the man in mirror. So teens take time to learn from the internal pain Michael was inflicting on himself by not opening up and seeking help sooner. Please go to www.acne-resource.org and find out ways to cope with acne and talk to someone you can trust. Remember going through puberty is only as hard as we make it. Thank you Michael Jackson for sharing your life with us and teaching us life lessons along the way. Rest In Peace. You will never be forgotten.

How much of a role do you think society’s views and standards of beauty played in Michael’s ever changing facial features over the years? Check out this video to see how his face changed over the years.

  

 

Mikenda Early is 32 years old and a mother of three. She currently resides in Nashville, TN. She’s working on her first fiction novel while attending Nashville State pursuing a degree in Nursing.

© 2010 – 2017, Shalena D.I.V.A. – Personal Branding| Content Marketing| Product Creation. All rights reserved.

57 Comments

  1. Quiana on June 25, 2010 at 12:04 pm

    Thanks for this. I personally beleive that MJ’s ever-changing look was a direct result of him having gone through puberty in the public eye. As we know, our peers can be very cruel, but the media can be even more cruel. Due to his looks being so heavily scrutinized and criticized as a teen, I don’t believe MJ ever saw the beauty in his outer appearance. So he kept changing his look, hoping to like who he saw looking back at him in the mirrow and hoping that others would like him too.

    • Mikenda on June 25, 2010 at 11:34 pm

      thank you for reading my article, Iagree he was trying to find a look he thought was eceptable. Only if he new he already was.

  2. ShalenaD.I.V.A on June 25, 2010 at 1:30 pm

    Mikenda, I think you brought up an excellent point about Michael going through puberty in front of the world’s eye. Puberty is such a private and awkward stage for most people. I don’t know how I owuld’ve handled this in front of the world either. But I wonder why Marlon didn’t go through the same thing. Wsn’t he also around MJ’s age. Maybe it’s because Michael was thee star and felt the most pressure. I still wonder why he changed his face so many times. While goign through that video morph of his face, I kept wanting to say, “MJ, stop right there. You were cute.” He changed his face the was some women change their hairstyles. That breaks my heart.

    I wonder who he thought was beautiful and tried to look like.

    • Mikenda on June 25, 2010 at 11:31 pm

      OMG! Shalena when I seen Karen’s comment I jumped up and started screaming. And to answer your question about Marlon, I don’t think he broke out because MJ really put more pressure on himself than the others did. Stress will break your face out as well. I dont MJ really new what beauty was he was just trying to be excepted and capture that love he thought he lost as a little boy. the real sad thing is that MJ thought he lost love from his fans because of how he looked. But he really didn’t we would have excepted just the way he were.

  3. Karen E. Quinones Miller on June 25, 2010 at 2:43 pm

    Wonderful article!

    • ShalenaD.I.V.A on June 25, 2010 at 3:29 pm

      Karen, thank you sooo much for stopping by my blog. That means so much to me because I look up to you. Your support means lot.

      Mikenda, do you know who just complimented you–none other than Essence Bestselling author Karen E. Quinones Miller and self publishing phenom. Look her up! She helped to mentor me with my writing as well. You should be proud of yourself for such a glowing review from one of the industry’s best…

    • Mikenda on June 25, 2010 at 11:22 pm

      Thank you Karen for taking the time to read my article your opinion means alot. My hope is that as others read it they will see beyond Michael’s different changes and recognize his pain. Thank you again for stopping by.

  4. Diane Hendricks via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 2:58 pm

    I believe that their is nothing wrong with improveing ones appearence. But I love Mike Shay but I think he took it a little too far which means something else was going on there. Some people are not happy with self. But me Shay I love me!!!!

    • Wakeelah on May 10, 2011 at 11:43 pm

      I dont believe anyone who desires to change their apperace is necessarily weak minded. We underestimate how POWERFUL these unspoken words come across in the images that we take in. There are so many avenues for subtle and sometimes not-so-…subtle messages to tell us, we are not quiet enough. From shampoo to lotion to makeup to what we drive, the knives we use…we are being SOLD a ‘lifestyle’ and most folks dont TRULY take the time to real-ize the origin of many of our perceived desires. I think it goes much deeper than self esteem…thought having a healthy esteem does offer a buffer between what ‘they want’ you to want and what you truly want. I’m rambling now… lolSee More

  5. Michelle Turner Manigo via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 2:59 pm

    I think people who change themselves are not happy with Gods creation. Even though times going through school kids are real mean and seem to find whats wrong with you, only because they are insecure about themselves.

  6. www.shalenadiva.com via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 3:01 pm

    I honestly think people wouoldn’t chnage thier looks so drastically if it wasn’t for society’s standards. I mean, I odn’t think these people thought there was anything wrong with their apeparance until somebody told them or they looked in a magazine and realized that they didn’t look a certain way. just saw this Jamaican rapper who recently bleached his skina nd he looks like he’s sick. he looks a hot mess. His skin is pale, but his lips are still dark and ashy. I guess he smokes alot of weed. But I actually felt sorry for the guy. I hear a lot of people in jamaica are bleaching their skin with just about any old thing and its dangerous. As for MJ, I think it was this also and some udnerlying psychological issues that stemmed from his childhood.

  7. www.shalenadiva.com via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 3:06 pm

    @Wakeelah– I agree 100% and I appreciate your comments. You weren’t rambling at all. LOL! I think MJ went too far like Diane said. I mean if you look at his life in pics,you would be amazed! For thse who didn’t grow up with Mike, they swear me up and down when i show them a pic of MJ when he was a cute little kid.

  8. Audrey May Jolly via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 3:06 pm

    I used to feel ugly and wanted so bad to be accepted or even feel like i was apart of something loved even.But when i found Christ and learned of his precious love,i learn to accept and love me because i know in his eyes i am beautiful.

  9. www.shalenadiva.com via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 3:09 pm

    @Audrey– I used to feel the same way so I can relate. But I must ask, who the heck were you hanging around because you are gorgeous! ou have bright, expressive eyes and winning smile.

  10. www.shalenadiva.com via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 3:12 pm

    @Michelle- Is that what he used. OMG1 He looks a mess. And yes, Lil’ Kim used to be pretty, but she’s so fake now. I’m not feeling her at all. What about Pep from Salt and Pepa? I think she looks a mess with her plastic surgery. She was fine before that surgery. And Joan Rivers needs to hang it up! She looks a mess, too– but she’s always talking about someone else. Sylvester Stallone needs to quit it, too. His face looks a hot mess. Ok, I’m off my hot mess soap box–LOL!

  11. Gene Steele via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 3:37 pm

    If there is a true medical condition then I can see the changes! But to go from a natural black man into Peter Pan was hard to accept.

    U r beautiful as u r accept urself for who u r & how u look!!

  12. Jerry J Edwards Jr via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 3:37 pm

    Hi all, MJ actually had a skin disorder called Vitiligo, it removes the pigment from your skin. It’s a “rare” (but not as rare as it was when we first witnessed it with MJ). I have a HS friend how has the same skin disorder as MJ. I was skeptical until my HS friend was diagnosed with it as well. Now the plastic surgery thing is really nothing new so many people do it, it’s like getting a tattoo. It really didn’t have much if not anything to do with how his childhood. People want to make changes it costs a lot of money which they have, so they do it. Yes, some things like mannerisms, playing and acting like a child, that definitely stems from MJ not having a childhood, but not the skin disorder.

  13. Michelle Turner Manigo via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 3:45 pm

    MJ did have a disorder but the disorder didnt cause his surgey. He may have been burned also from the fire from the Pepsi commercial.? To me it seemed as though he wanted to be something else or someone else, his skin disorder was just the excuse to change who he was. Jmo

  14. Rochelle Bacon Henriene via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    If u cant love as u r….how can u love me as i am…when u die…what happens to all u have changed???….now look at ur heart…what happens to it…did u change it tooo…so change all u want OUTSIDE TO PLEASE PEOPLE…GOD is lookn at ur HEART*HE really dont care what u look like….look around!!!!….SHEESHHHH

  15. Michelle Turner Manigo via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:05 pm

    if you changed yourself you already changed your heart. You changrd who he created to be somebody else. What are you really hiding.

  16. www.shalenadiva.com via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:11 pm

    @Jerry, MJ’s plastic surgery stemmed from his childhood at least in part according to MJ himself. He said he didn’t want to look like his father.

  17. MsDebbie MsEdmonson Boyd via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:12 pm

    I also loved mike. And yes I think he went to Far the Plastic Surgery for one. I don’t know about the bleching. My Son has the Same Skin Problem. I Thank God That he didn’t Get it on his Face. I have Saw People with it on Their Face Poor People I Know If they Could do Something I Sure They Would. I Would See How People Would Stare. My Heart go Out to them. And Maybe Michael had Other Problems.

  18. Jerry J Edwards Jr via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:19 pm

    Oh yeah Shalenda, his Plastic surgery, I totally understand. I should have kept them separate. I was mainly referring to the skin disorder. Sorry for the confusion.

  19. MsDebbie MsEdmonson Boyd via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:28 pm

    Again. Beauty is in that Person Not Only the Outside. I met This Guy A Few years ago. That when I Saw Him it took Me Back. This Guy had No bottom Lip. Once I Started Talking to him I Saw A Very Handsome Man.

  20. Gene Steele via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:32 pm

    @ Shalena, But he looked like his mother 100%. He looked nothing like his father. I think I was ok with his first plastic surgery. After that he should have stopped. It was a change but it was a nice one. After that he was never satisfied with how he looked. He was such a talented brother!

  21. www.shalenadiva.com via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    @Gene, I agree 100% I thought he looked more like his mother, too. My mom said he looked like Joe, but I disagreed with her. I liked him on Thriller. Bad was pushing it, but he should’ve stopped after Thriller. When I was watchign bad, I didn’t really process hwo light he had become.

  22. www.shalenadiva.com via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    @MsDebbie–I don’t mean to laugh, but how could he talk with no bottom lip? Please forgive me, but that made me laugh. Please forgive me.

  23. Gene Steele via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:49 pm

    @Shalena, MJ did a tv special with the late Elizabeth Taylor & she looked like the black one of the two! That’s how white he had transformed himself to. I couldn’t fix my face to laugh at that sight! He went past white! & the no nose issue! What was up with that?!

  24. MsDebbie MsEdmonson Boyd via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:49 pm

    Even Mrs Jackson said She Did Like All The things he Did too his face. She Said She Even Asked his Dr to Stop. And Yes Shalena He was A Cute Little Boy. Some of these People think He Looked Good. That is all@

  25. www.shalenadiva.com via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 4:54 pm

    @MsDeb, I always wondered what his mother and family thought. I knwo if one of my siblings did that, I would’ve pulled them to the side. Imagine what he looked like without makeup on–WOW!

  26. MsDebbie MsEdmonson Boyd via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    Shalena. Sweety Believe me I understood Some Things He Said. But he Also Had this Small box Like A Conputer where he would Push to talk. But For Some Reason I Understood alot of what he Was Saying.

  27. Sharon McGlone via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 5:08 pm

    I think he had too many issues and that resulted in those changes he chose. he is in a class by himself. his talent is and will always be unmatched!

  28. Sharon McGlone via Facebook on May 10, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    When your self esteem is low, you can easily find yourself doing things you vowed you would never do. then you just react sometimes it is for better or the opposite. it sucks when you feel alone in this world. that is what i believe society made him believe that no matter how talented he was he will never measure up. he took it personal and to the extreme and sadly the ending result was his death. when you hear you are not good enough. you begin to believe whether it is true or not no longer matters.

  29. Nina on May 10, 2011 at 11:39 pm

    An underlying Problem : We all Do !!!!!!

    • ShalenaD.I.V.A on May 10, 2011 at 11:44 pm

      @Nina yes! We all have underlying problems. LOL

  30. Shalena D.I.V.A. on May 10, 2011 at 11:40 pm

    I don’t mean any harm, but how convenient for MJ to get Vitiligo. I always thought that especially with the plastic surgery.

  31. Linda on May 10, 2011 at 11:42 pm

    it’s a combination of both, society/advertisers tell us we are not good enough unless we look, smell, and in some cases feel a certain way, however if we appreciate who we are as we are these tactics have little effect on us. I think Michae…l growing up in the entertainment industry where a persons looks could make or break ones career played a part but he also had some famillial challenges as well, the lack of a real childhood and low self esteem and the combination of these things sent him on his path of Metamorphoses, a perfectionist trying to be perfect, which is never attainable.

  32. Keiwaine Hicks via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:07 pm

    I always said that if I had a million dollars, the first thing I’d get was a plastic surgeon! lol Why? Because EVERYBODY wants to look like a million bucks.

  33. Kaiece Bright via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:13 pm

    SOCIETY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH MJ’S PHYSICAL CHANGES…THAT WAS HIS OWN INNER DEMON THAT TALK TO HIM …AN IDOL MIND IS THE DEVILS PLAY GROUND…HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS TIME BESIDES MAKING MUSIC IT WAS ALL HE WAS GIVEN A CHANCE TO DO…SO AS A RESULT HE WAS CHALLENGED MENTALLY BY THE DEMONS THAT SURROUND US ALL EVERYDAY…AS YOUNG AS HE WAS HIS MIND WAS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO HANDLE IT AND HE SPIRAL’D OUT OF CONTROL(MY OPINION) SO DONT GET UPSET YOU MJ LOVERS

  34. www.shalenadiva.com via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:14 pm

    I considered nose surgery, but now, I’m like, I love me. A little make up does wonders–LOL! I don’t think I’d change a thing now, but when I was younger– for sure! I would be looking like Mrs. Potato Head–LOL!

  35. Kaiece Bright via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:15 pm

    LOL… SEE HOW AGE AND WISDOM CAN ALTER YOUR JUDGEMENT OON THINGS…MONEY SHOULDNT CHANGE YOUR PERSON.

  36. Korey Harrison via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:17 pm

    I wudnt change anything physical, but I wud help my cuzzin to change his physical after his accident. I am who God made me wont change it thru surgery.

  37. Kaiece Bright via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:22 pm

    BEING A TEEN IS VERY VERY TRYING TIMES IN YOUR LIFE…WE ALL HAD DOWN MOMENTS BACK THEN…I REMEMBER TELLING MY MOM I LOOKED LIKE A BOY FOR THE OBVIOUS REASON NO BREAST AT AGE 13 LOL

  38. Abel Lewis via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:23 pm

    Hey that is just the way it is.

  39. Deborah Stokes via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:24 pm

    You know I wouldn’t change a thing, it took me over 15 years to really like me as a person, and now that I love me…take it like it is or don’t take it at all! And what!

  40. Reanader Hamlin via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:32 pm

    i wouldnt change unless it was to improve my health money seem to make alot of people that arnt that easy on the eye look attractive anyway lol

  41. R Annie Woods via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:33 pm

    MJ also had medical issues too which had effects on his physical appearance and which in turn, led him to make more changes. It wasn’t all for cosmetic purposes…

  42. Renolda Dax via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:34 pm

    I wudn’t change a thing, my inner beauty makes it easy 4 me 2 appreciate de way my body & face looks. I’d reather give de money 2 those less fortunate…

  43. Covenant Equals Efemena via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:37 pm

    i will and can neva change anytin in my body structure.
    I luv me jst d way i am.

  44. Denisha Oliver via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 12:44 pm

    Maybe i would if disliked myself as much as he did

  45. Janice Brown via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 1:11 pm

    Of course society played a HUGE role in his decisions to alter himself! Society has told us That darker skin, wider nose, Fuller lips isn’t as desirable… sadly -even from our own comes this kind of self hatred. Sad!!

  46. Janice Brown via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 1:13 pm

    BTW – I love me some me. I workout, eat right, and take care of me inside an out. So i can feel and look my best..I lovvvvve the skin God put me in!!

  47. Andrea Bailey Holloway via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 1:58 pm

    I know it would be wrong to do for me personally because I know beauty goes from the inside to outside BUT I would get lipo, tummy tuck, hair implants, breast reduction. That would be all.

  48. Felicia Imdoinme Konan via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 4:04 pm

    Let’s see…..Botox for sure….Liposuction just tah keep it right and tight……..:)

  49. Rosevell White via Facebook on June 25, 2011 at 7:37 pm

    civic..

  50. Allen Sumpter via Facebook on June 25, 2012 at 2:01 pm

    was not very proud of the way he looked….

  51. Prima Donna via Facebook on June 25, 2012 at 2:11 pm

    YES… It’s Ok 2 Tweak some things but not 2 the point you look unhuman…

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