Life Lessons from Disney

It's interesting just how much you can learn about yourself in the hour or so it takes to watch a fun little Disney movie. I'm almost 23 years old, and I'll be honest... The Little Mermaid is probably my favorite movie of all time. I don't care if my four year old cousin has the same favorite movie as me- it's a good movie. I hadn't seen it in years, but I got it for Christmas and decided to watch it at work tonight. And in so doing I think I learned a little bit about myself (and maybe why so many other girls who watched this movie hundreds of times before the age of four are the same way)

Sure, I'm definately psychoanalyzing myself, but just go with me for a minute.

"I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty. I've got whoozits and whatsits galore. You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty! But who cares? No big deal. I want more..."
Now contrary to what that may sound like, Ariel wasn't talking about wanting more stuff, and neither am I. When I was in junior high, I just knew life would be fabulous when I was in high school. High school came, and I thought as soon as I turn 16 and can OFFICIALLY date, my life will be perfect. My sixteenth birthday came, and life wasn't perfect. But I knew once I had graduated from high school (ugh) and was a grown up in college, life would surely be complete joy. College came, Robbie left on his mission, and I realized as "joyous" as being a grown up in college and having a missionary is (ha ha), it would surely be more so when I was married. Finally, I was right. I love my husband and I was made to be married. That doesn't mean life is perfect like I just "knew" it would be when I was 14, but it's close enough for me. Except how much better would it be if I had already finished nursing school and Robbie was in grad school and... ? See where I'm going with this? I know I'm not the only one who's at some point had the "I'll be happy when..." mentality. Maybe the whole "the grass is greener on the other side" crap is human nature. But so what. That isn't something that can't be overcome. I think for the first time in my life I'm not only happy, but completely satisfied with where my life is right NOW. Sure I'm looking forward to stuff in the future, but I'm okay with the now too. It's a nice feeling. Regardless of who thinks I would have been happier going straight for my RN rather than doing the LPN thing first, or who says "you just won't know true happiness until you have a baby." Thats a stronger word for crap. I'm truely happy right now thankyouverymuch. And for the first time, I'm not thinking "sure I'm happy, but I'll be happier when....." Not that I necessarily learned this from Disney, but it prompted this whole train of thought anyway.

"What would I give to live where you are? What would I pay to stay here beside you? What would I do to see you smiling at me? I don't know when, I don't know how... but I know something's starting right now. Watch and you'll see, someday I'll be part of your world."
Ariel just knew after seeing Prince Eric once that she was in love with him. And, clearly, she "knew" something was about to happen. You know where I'm going with this... the whole love at first sight thing.I think there are still quite a few people, girls especially, who believe in the whole love at first sight idea. Now, I'm not sure about love at first sight. But I'll be honest, it wasn't horribly long after I met Robbie that I knew something was different about this. Not even necessarily that it was "different"- after all, I didn't have anything to compare it to. But I knew when I met him that something significant had just happened to me. Not long after that I was 100% convinced that someday I was going to marry this guy. When that happens to someone who is twenty, and you tell people about it... they think "oh what a great spiritual experience. And how romantic!" When you're 14... people think you're a crazy psycho. Personally, I think of it as incredible inspiration. But when you think of it in the context of how I'd heard the song with the lines "I don't know when, I don't know how, but I know something's starting right now," hundreds of times in my childhood... it's kinda funny huh? Maybe Disney really did have an effect on my four year old psyche.

"Poor unfortunate souls... this one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl, and do I help them? Yes indeed." A little context- Ursula the sea witch is explaining how she helps overweight mermaids (who look very unhappy in the movie) be pretty and thin and helps scrawny thin, no muscles (as they are depicted) mermen get girls (by turning them into super cute guys with big biceps). And of course this overweight woman and underweight man are given the title of "poor unfortunate souls." Now remember, The Little Mermaid is my absolutely favorite movie. But I work at a treatment center for eating disorders, and I had my own issues at one time so I can't help but think of this in that context. It doesn't make me love the movie any less, but it does make me wonder if that was some kind of subliminal message to my four year old brain. I'm not lying when I say I saw this movie HUNDREDS of times as a child. So hundreds of times I saw this sad, overweight mermaid get turned instantly into a pretty, very thin mermaid... and suddenly she had a smile on her face. Now before someone gets mad at me I am not saying the Little Mermaid causes eating disorders. There are way bigger things in our society that have way more influence on the development of these disorders than a Disney movie. I don't think this one line in a Disney song is the difference between someone having an eating disorder and not. But I thought it was interesting. (not to mention how the merman is all sad and depressed and, specifically, can't get a girl, because he's skinny and has no muscles.... what a wonderful message...)

Anyway, like I said in the beginning, I know I'm psychoanalyzing this to death. But I'm at work and tired, which lead to watching Disney movies, which sparked the ideas, which inspired the blogging. If it doesn't make sense, it's 6:30 in the morning and I've been up all night.