So, not to be that b!+*# but I absolutely love Disney Princesses. As basic as it sounds, ever since I was a little girl, I MADE IT KNOWN that I wanted to be one of the princesses who pranced around all day at Walt Disney World. That dream though, quickly changed after I found out that I break out in rashes from excessive heat/high temperatures (HUGE career/life wakeup call). Even though I’ll never be Belle or my favorite blonde icon, Rapunzel, I still try to channel my inner femme Disney queen day by day especially here in college. I feel like everyone says “Disney Princesses teach us so much,” but where are these teachings thriving the most? College baby! College is the PERFECT place for Disney Princesses and their teachings to excel. I could totally see Cinderella waiting in the crazy dining hall Starbucks line for her pumpkin spice latte, and Elsa and Anna recruiting for their sorority in the common area. Also, I know I don’t go to a traditional college but I personally think ANY of the Disney Princess would blossom, studying at a city school. With all this stress of trying to seek college advice is where I decided to turn to some of our first role models and really focus on the wisdom of these Disney Princesses + the advice of theirs that I see myself constantly using.
- “DO NOT TAKE S#!+ FROM STRANGERS & be cautious of your surroundings,” taught by our red-lipped beauty and first Disney Princess ever, Snow White
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I’m not the biggest frat/college party fan. I mean, I’ll go to the theme events if the tickets are cheap and I get a good deal, but fraternity parties/parties at city schools are nothing like the ones at bigger state universities. Anyways, I haven’t been a witness to incidents at frat/college parties involving people’s drinks being drugged although I’ve heard stories from individuals I’m close with who unfortunately have had an event like this happen to them. It’s heartbreaking to hear what they went through and the one thing that they’ll say to me and I take from the discussions I’ve had with them is “don’t ever take s#!+ from strangers at any party or big event you go to”.
Snow White, a total classic, vintage babe, has been criticized FOR YEARS for her “fault” of taking the apple from the Evil Queen and you know what, SHE DID NOTHING WRONG. Of course, she took something from a stranger which is not a smart idea (and what literally I’m telling anyone reading this article NOT to do), but she was vulnerable and made a mistake, we’re all human and we all do things we shouldn’t every now and then. The Queen also tricked the girl with this beautiful fruit and put on an innocent disguise that guilted Snow White into eating the apple. From watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs from when I was younger to now I’ve changed my mindset in regards to her actions and behaviors. I’ve realized that we all make mistakes, but we also can avoid a lot of mistakes by paying close attention in sketchy situations. In conclusion, what she taught me is yes, DO NOT take anything from anyone in any loosely controlled situations, but there is so much more to that statement. DO NOT take things from random people, DO NOT consume anything given to you by strangers, and be cautious of your surroundings. In specifics; DO NOT put your drink down, watch the bartender make your drink(s), and watch out for beautiful looking fruit too. - “Be & love who you are & don’t change for others” taught by our lady of the sea, Ariel
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I always thought this was a cliche thing that everyone said once they’ve experienced their first year of college, but it’s actually true; “be and love your true self and it will get you places.” I know I hardly made a dent in my first year, but already by acting and being my normal self I’ve made so many amazing friends and done crazy outrageous things that I feel could’ve never been accomplished if I put on a fake persona. College makes me love myself and, because I’m associating with people who like me for me, I feel and see a huge growth in who I am.
Ariel wanted to change herself for Eric, she didn’t want to be a mermaid anymore. She wanted life outside and away from the ocean, away from her father, and as a whole just craved freedom. It’s all great and dandy that she wanted those things- I know I’m personally a huge freedom chaser- but the thing that Ariel did was change herself and didn’t take the time to love and appreciate who she truly was meant to be. Ariel totally disregarded her singing talent, tail, and ocean roots for a guy. What I learned from watching The Little Mermaid then and now is that you SHOULD NOT give up who you are for anyone. Love and express-who you are and who you are meant to be. Yes, change is good, but if you’re changing yourself for others and not appreciating who are to begin with, it’s going to get you nowhere and you won’t be happy- I promise that.
- “Hold on to your passion & don’t let anyone dictate life for you,” taught by our beauty and brains, Belle
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I have a lot of hobbies. I enjoy everything from painting to dancing and from journaling to working on math problems (literally do not ask me how I developed that passion), but let’s just say I’m passionate about a lot. I’ve always been a huge school person and a very big nerd too. Growing up, I made school my life because I knew it would get me to where I wanted to be. I crave learning new and vibrant information, and it’s been this way ever since I was a little girl. Going into college, I tried holding onto a lot of my passions and interests but learned it’s not easy to study everything. I’ve also had a lot of people from my years at high school to now tell me they couldn’t see me working in a lab and doing extensive toxicology/biology research which is a huge dream of mine and hearing that f*%#ing sucked. I won’t say it totally made me disregard my love for that area of study, but it did take a toll on what I could see myself doing and I let that dictate what I’m studying in college currently. It’s not to say that I don’t love my major and minor(s) but sometimes I really miss doing science/working in labs.
Belle was one tough motherf*%#er. She DID NOT and I repeat, DID NOT let that lowlife Gaston tell her what to do with her time. Belle loved reading- she was a total bookworm and never followed the crowd when it came to setting aside her interests for a man. She held on to her passion- sure she surrounded herself with people who supported her love for reading and disassociating herself from the crowd that didn’t. Watching Beauty and the Beast now, I’m realizing that I need to hold on my interests and passions near and dear to my heart. I shouldn’t let people tell me what they can and cannot see me studying or going into and honestly just embrace my love for science and STEM research. Also, I’m going to find a way to go into studying it again, whether that becomes accomplished through minoring in it or continuing my studies in a STEM subject. This lesson though is not just for me, but for everyone. If you love what you’re doing, studying, majoring in, minoring in, etc., DON’T YOU DARE let someone bring you down for it. You should commit to that because passion is a beautiful thing, my friends.
- “Things aren’t always what they appear to be & there will be obstacles,” taught by my absolute FAVORITE princess ever, Rapunzel
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I’ve met people I thought I would love but found out that I don’t ever want to associate with them again and people who I initially thought were total a$$holes but now, I want to be with them 24/7, and all of this occurred my first semester here at my university. Not everything turned out completely what I thought it was going to be, but it made me stronger mentally. Without these first year obstacles, I wouldn’t be ready for my years to come in both the college and the real world. I need to deal with my pain, stress, and sleepless study nights and yeah, it sucks, but it’s college and college isn’t an easy thing! Unnecessary drama and difficult professors don’t help with the usual stressors of life, but it prepares you for hard reality. There’s going to be people throughout your life that you just won’t get along with-it’s normal and the sad truth of life. Here’s the thing: if we don’t deal with problems like that now, how will we know how to handle them in the future? Obstacles happen, but they make us stronger individuals.
Literally, lord praise Rapunzel. Not only did that girl live with a CRAZY, IMPOSTER mother, but she lived with her in a tower that looked extremely unsupportive architecturally. In all seriousness, Rapunzel went through a lot. For years she called that witch, “mother” not knowing at all she had no relations to her and was actually kidnapped by her from Rapunzel’s real family. Life wasn’t what it seemed to be for Rapunzel- she had no idea of all this until her realization of her actually being the one and only “lost princess” happened. Then she had to face the evil powers that her “mother” possessed as she tried to prevent Rapunzel from escaping that living h3!! hole she once called home. That was one major issue Rapunzel faced out of many, but it had to happen to her in order to experience the real world. These challenges allowed her to finally live her life- marrying the most HANDSOME character Disney ever produced, Flynn Rider.
In the end, I truthfully wish for you all to take these lessons seriously. What I learned so far about college is that it’s hard and advice is always appreciated one way or another. College and life in general isn’t easy, but hopefully it makes you readers feel a tad bit better knowing Ariel herself went through an identity crisis for a guy she really liked and Snow White trusted the wrong person. Princesses aren’t perfect people, they’re just like us and imperfection is f*%#ing beautiful.