Self-esteem

There is a boy in my class that is obsessed with two things, himself and corndogs. . . we'll call him "Tony".
Usually when it is time to clean up one activity and move onto another I put on some music to help the kids get moving. On a rainy Tuesday I put on a song that had a really good beat so the kids got excited. Tony in particular really started grooving, he was wiggling his hips and poking his bottom out. I noticed, however, that her wasn't really cleaning while he danced, he was watching something. I turned to see what it was and realised he was watching himself in the mirror! This amused me. I continued to watch him and he continued to watch himself. His moves got more intense and began to include "gang like" hand gestures and some serious facial movement. He was rockin out! He never once took his eyes off that mirror though. The song ended and we moved on with our day.
At lunch time I noticed that Tony had positioned himself at the table so that he could once again see himself in the mirror. Throughout the meal I watched him watch himself. He watched himself pass the peas, he watched himself talk to his friends, he watched himself pour his milk, and he watched himself chew! I held back laughter! He was just so confidant! There was nothing more amazing to this kid than his own reflection! He would occassionally knock a friend in the face with a bowl of food because he wasn't watching where he was passing it!
I was considering why exactly I thought this was so humorous. Why should it be so funny that he loves himself so much? Out in the world it's considered vanity but in his little world he's just figuring out who he is! It's too bad that we can't all be that facinated with our own reflection. Time and other people start to make that reflection look different than it did when we were four. How often do any of us stop to dance in front of a mirror and how many of us like what we see when we do?
I think Tony has the right idea.