Lessons Disney Taught Me...

If you know me at all you know I have a mild obsession with Disney (hence why I recently went and worked there). Although bad news for you guys, my time spent at Disney has just increased that mild obsession basically. Although lets go back to when this all began.......
March 17, 1993 a fantastic girl was born. For the sake of this story, lets call her Madison. Fast forward time a few years to when Madison could start talking. Naturally in the olden days parents often used their favorite child distraction-the VCR. One day Madison's mother played The Little Mermaid. Bam. Madison was hooked. Madison officially possibly had her first obsession and it was a red headed Mermaid. Of course Madison watched all the Disney classics, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, the list obviously goes on and on. Her eyes sparked each time a trip to Disney occurred and she could see her favorite characters in real life, as she felt what could only be described as magic. But, as most children grow up (something Peter Pan warned us about) the children fell away from their Disney love. Girls putting their Princess crowns in storage and boys putting their Woody dolls high up on a shelf. Tragic right? Occasionally you have a child who might have taken a lesson or two from Peter Pan and refused to quite grow up without making the dramatic trip to Neverland. Fast forward time even further ahead and here we have Madison at 20 years old. Not even any longer a child, but no longer a teenager. She is officially an adult.
Now, I am here to tell you that yes, the girl in the story is me. Shocking turn of events I know. But you know, whether we grew up from Disney or not, there is no denying the lessons Disney seemed to teach us. Each Disney story is entertaining with it's catchy songs and perfect romance stories, but deeper lessons lay beneath that.
Pinocchio: I for one hate Pinocchio, it gives me nightmares. BUT....it's jam packed with lessons. For example-a lie will keep growing and growing. Wish upon a star, and best of all, always let your conscience be your guide!
Bambi: Another one I don't particularly like but who can't love Thumpers advice-If you cant say anything nice, don't say anything at all.
Hercules: "A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart" "Giving up is for rookies" and best of all "I can go the distance." Isn't he a catch?
Aladdin: Remember the whole lamp and genie thing? It's kind of important to the story line. Well "It's not what's outside, but what's inside that counts." And of course as Genie put it "Just BEE yourself!"
Cinderella: "Even Miracles take a little time"...
Lion King: "The past can hurt...but the way i see it, you can either run from it or learn from it."
Mulan: Be true to your heart
Pocahontas: Walk in the footsteps of strangers you'll learn things you never knew
Peter Pan: All it takes is faith and trust...
Beauty and the Beast: Don't judge a book by it's cover! (See what I did there. Because Belle likes to read and fell in love with a Beast who happens to be a dashing prince?...clever me!)
Sleeping Beauty: Well she slept most the time but Prince Phillip is quite a stud. Slaying dragons while the whole kingdom slept away-some people will go to extremes for those they love! (even if they just met. Although hey they have met before...once upon a dream!)
Snow White: Don't accept food from strangers
Princess and the Frog: Don't kiss a frog.....oh and working hard for something pays off.
Brave: If ya have the chance to change yer fate...do it. *read in a Scottish accent. It makes it more fun!*
Tangled: From "Ah, the things we've seen and it's only eight in the morning" to "That's the good part I guess, you go find a new dream." Tangled is packed with lessons of adventure and reaching your dreams.
The Little Mermaid: While for the longest time the only lesson I could really focus on was how badly I wanted to be a mermaid-let's focus on "Such wonderful things around you-what more are you looking for?" Sometimes you just got to stop and enjoy the present.

Of course the list of Disney movies and the lessons they hold goes on and on. Disney's pretty rad and sure I  may be that adult refusing to quite fully grow up but come on Walt himself said "That's the real trouble with the world-too many people grow up....." Well Walt, i'm on your side my friend.

But I like to believe you're never too old for Disney.