This I Believe: Disney Version

I believe that everything I’ve ever learned that is of any use, I have learned from Disney movies.

We all began watching these movies at a very young and they were the first glimpse we had at a life outside our own. We were bombarded by images of princesses with perfectly melodic voices, that could summon the most delightful of woodland animals to dress, clean, and guide them through their kooky endeavors. Constantly surrounded with the idea of “magic” and how commonplace it actually is. You can turn a pumpkin into a carriage or your mermaid fins into legs all with the help of a slightly questionable old lady.  I learned to assume that the most outlandish possibilities are a part of everyday life.

Another important thing I learned from Disney movies is what was expected of me as a girl. I only had to be ditzy, intelligent, feminine, capable, a good dancer, klutzy, shy, outgoing, social, a bookworm, and most of all, it is especially important to have immaculately perfect hair. Without this perfect hair I’d never be able to attract a Prince Charming, and without a Prince Charming how could I ever find true love’s kiss, and without true love’s kiss how can I break the great variety of spells that could be bequeathed on me? I learned I must be the most ideal girl in order to please the opposite sex.

This leads to the number one lesson that Disney movies have taught me: Prince Charming. Each princess has one, and he is always the same. Tall, dark and handsome, with an unrealistically hot bod, and an uncanny ability to show up whenever the princess needs him. If I don’t have this Prince Charming, I have nothing.

Growing up around these ideals I was convinced that this is the way that life was. A simple Disney movie. Until the day I found out that real life was a lot more complicated, yet a lot simpler. 

I was watching “The Little Mermaid” with a 5 year old girl that I babysit and I realized she doesn’t even know that none of this is real, and then I understood that not a single moment of this movie was reflective of reality. It was liberating.

I learned that it’s ok for your voice to crack during a choir performance, to think that mice and chipmunks are gross, to picture magic as the colors of a really killer sunset. I learned that it’s ok to be myself and not compare myself to others or aspire to unrealistic expectations. It’s ok to have bad hair days and it’s ok to let go of Prince Charming. I learned that all I could do was do my best and learn to save myself.