Lessons the Disney Princesses Taught Me: Part 1

I mean, movies that have a strong female lead are hard to come by. I know the princesses have a bad reputation for being solely about finding a man, getting married, and living happily ever after. 

Pshhhhhh. These people are NOT watching the same movies I've been watching. 

So, here's a series of the lessons Disney leading ladies have taught me. 

Let's start off with my favorite princess: 

Belle.

Now, Belle. This girl is amazing. 

Shockingly, Belle hasn't always been my favorite princess. It wasn't until I was old enough and had my first taste of freedom (aka leaving my small town to head to university) that I finally got what Belle was talking about. After my first trip outside of the country, I was hooked on adventure and seeing new places and people. 

So. Let's recap what happened in Belle's life:

When we first meet her, we learn that she's weird. There's like a whole song about it. And despite being weird, she is being pursued (dare i say, harassed) by the self-proclaimed hottest guy in town (Gaston) - and the townspeople actively thought she was crazy to not want him back. 

When she finds her father's horse, not only does she go out alone to search for him (uh, brave much?), when she finds him she willfully takes his place so he can be free. She gives up the one thing we know she wants (adventure in the great wide somewhere kind of requires not to be locked in a tower) because she loves her father so much.

THEN she stands up to the beast. she doesn't let him push her around or allow him to treat her like she is inferior or a prisoner. And once she does that, she sees past his anger and despair. She sees beyond his outward appearance and falls in love with the man inside. 

Here's what Belle has taught me:

1) Belle taught me that even when people call you weird or strange, keep being you. You'll never live up to the expectations of other - and you shouldn't have to. If your ideas or interests or even what you like to wear are "different" and don't live up to the standard of what other people are doing, do it anyway. Love yourself enough to go after your "adventure in the great wide somewhere" even if people might judge you for it.

2) It's okay to not want what others want. Belle wasn't obsessed with Gaston like the bimbettes. In fact, she didn't even set out to find "true love". She wanted adventure - and on her adventure her love found her. So....even when your friends are getting married and having babies, it's okay to not want that stuff so soon. Be adventurous, don't worry about you life being "on track". It'll all come when it comes.

3) Look for the best in people. Behind mask of anger or happiness or shyness there is a person and you never know where there's a prince hiding. Don't judge a book by it's cover, a prince by his curse, or a person by their hurts. Belle teaches us the great lesson of Beauty and the Beast - things aren't always what they seem. 

There are obviously so many more lessons that come from the entire movie of Beauty and the Beast (Gaston alone could probably fuel a million pages of criticism and lessons), but here are the things that Belle has taught me. What lessons have you learned from Disney movies? Is there a princess you want to be featured in this series? Do you even read my blog? What is the meaning of life? 

If you have answers to any of the above questions: comment below! If you don't, tell me your favorite flavor of ice cream! 

love + pixie dust,

sarah