Leslie Alva is a sophomore Marketing major at the University of Kansas. Once upon a time, however, she also got the opportunity to act as an actual princess.
At the dawn of her fifteenth year, Leslie had a choice to make – how would she celebrate her birthday? Some girls preferred to receive a car, a monetary gift, or a vacation to mark their rite of passage into womanhood. But Leslie knew that she wanted something else – something more in line with her Hispanic heritage. She ultimately decided on a quinceañera. It would be the ultimate opportunity for her to show her true form as a modern-day princess.
The most pivotal thing in the life of a princess is the outfit. Leslie worked day in and day out to find the perfect dress – long and white, with a full skirt. When the day of the party came, younger girls “oohed” and “ahhhed” over the glowing gown as she walked by to complete family-led photoshoots at different locations. The admiration of all the little girls made her walk even taller and smile even brighter.
Being a princess, however, was harder work than anticipated at some points. The dress, though beautiful, turned out to be more cumbersome than the outfits she was used to. She would trip slightly on the skirt and have to balance herself before falling over. It also required a couple good shoves from her brother to help her climb into her white limo chariot. The dress, which had been the source of such deeply princess-like moments seemed to come with its own set of obstacles.
The celebration, however, turned out to be everything she could have dreamed of. And after her quinceañera, Leslie felt as if she truly understood the difficult parts of being a princess. She turned in her dress until the next time she felt like living that difficult life once more, but was forever changed by her chance to walk in the shoes of royalty.
“It’s like a wedding/prom but just about you.”