Why Growing Up with Disney Made Me a Writer

Clad in bunny-printed pink pajamas along with Marie biscuits (they’ve stopped producing, why oh why?!) on a free-afternoon after my Kinder 2 class at ABC Learning Center, stood the stationary black box, which introduced me to tiaras and gorgeous boys on horses.

Life was a sandwich-eating feast after school way back when I was about six years old. After hanging out at the monkey bars along with my greasy-stained schoolmates, I’d hurry up to catch my fairytale shows. Life was singing along with birds and even teapots. Life was waiting for the prince to return my shoe. Life was waiting for that kiss that could wake me up from the deepest and longest sleep.

Being a Disney princess were the microscopes of life from my kaleidoscope point of view.  It formed me as I am today: overly-romantic, optimistic, cheerful, singsong disposition and ultra-feminine. Not that I let any man step over my tiara but watching Disney princesses created me as a strong lady with  goals of reaching my dreams and kissing a great prince.

Basically, Disney taught me about happily ever afters but not to be naïve about it—it taught me that happy ever after comes after beating the evil queen, fighting dragons and even knowing who you really are in the world where everyone is defining you.

Early on, I first loved sketching before writing but I realized that putting words into paper is the better way to express thoughts (plus, I get frustrated right away when I could sketch the perfect picture). I became a writer because I knew how it was like to be caught in a good story that re-creates a person’s world in some way. I became a writer because I wanted to write about lost loves, family struggles and societal expectations. I became a writer because I wanted to write happily-ever-afters in the world where it is considered naïve to even think about it.

Let’s read some wisdom I gathered from growing up in a Disney world, which formed me as a writer. Remember, don’t be fooled with its sweet façade because it carries a greater significance.

• Bambi– The first Disney movie I’ve seen. Bambi is the dearest deer in the world—witnessing how his mother died from guns, he didn’t succumbed to self-destruction but stood on both of his feet.

• The Lion King– Never forget your father’s legacy. A pride rests in your own familyname and your own self. Never let anyone take your house, your car and your money. Just like honor and dignity, it should be earned and kept.

• Cinderella– Hope is intangible but it’s real as so as miracles. There is a reason for all the struggles in life and all the people who’ve hurt you will receive the punishment they deserve in some way. Think about Karma because it’s real. You hurt someone, wait until you get hurt a hundred times back. Remember the person you’ve bullied in high school? Wait until he becomes a millionaire and you might end up asking him to hire you. Just like Cinderella who became a princess and her cruel stepmother and stepsisters became servants in the end. The significance about the story of Cinderella is that it didn’t discriminate against status. Cinderella might have become an heiress but she was a mere pauper when the prince met her again but did the story tells about wicked mother-in-laws and town gossips? No. Did the prince run away when he realized that she isn’t a princess? No again.

• Sleeping Beauty– Follow the advice from your parents to avoid hurting your finger. It also portrays the value of chivalry, which is sadly diminishing today. How far could guys go today in order to show respect and gallantry to old women, children and ladies? It also portrays the value of chastity. Aurora didn’t just go everywhere with the prince without knowing who he really is and appeared discrete and reserved. How many young ladies show this today?

• Beauty and the Beast- My favorite Disney princess, Belle is more than just a pretty face. Although “Belle” might translate to “Beautiful”, Disney altered a stereotype about beauty. She didn’t rely on beauty alone to create value in her life but she read books to beautify her mind also. She is also empathetic towards the beast’s attitude. In reality, the beast could be any person who is always angry because they might be frustrated, depressed or lonely. Belle creates a person who arrived with happiness in the beast’s life wherein she accepted every exterior and interior imperfections because she believed that beneath all the façade, is the soft heart of the beast.

That’s why I became a writer because of Disney since in Disney, you could mix a sweet story with some significance that awakens someone’s soul while enjoying a good movie. Maybe someday, I’ll write for Disney and that’s going to be the sweetest dream to come true!

featured image from disneyparks.disney.go.com