I like ampersands

This is totally unrelated to anything, but I think I have problems. I've recently discovered that the semicolon is my favorite punctuation mark. Who even has a favorite punctuation mark? I also really like to use ampersands instead of the word "and". Double ampersands are my favorite. Hello && Goodbye; doesn't that just look cool? & besides, it's fun to write it 'cause it's all swirly and stuff.

Now, please carry on with your life and forget this ever happened...

Disney Movies

I'm currently watching Disney's Mulan after just finishing The Emperor's New Groove. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a HUGE Disney fan; I love all Disney movies, and the princess movies hold a special place in my heart (I've got to say, Tangled is my favorite). Recently, I've been seeing a lot hating on all the princess. The general complaint is that Disney princess have no good qualities except for being beautiful and skinny, and that they only get a happy ending because of their good-looks. Well, what I have to say about this is:

Okay, so they do make some stupid decisions, but so do we all. That's the point, I think: to learn and grow. Let's take Jasmine for example. Maybe it was stupid of her to run away from home for the sole reason that she was being forced into an arranged marriage with a man she had never met. I'll admit that Ariel's decision to give up her voice and leave her family for a man she never really met wasn't the smartest decision. 

Still, a movie about a girl who decided to do what she was told and live the rest of her life dreaming of what could have been wouldn't make a good movie at all. Besides, she's 16. She's growing up, and making mistakes is part of that. The moral of The Little Mermaid isn't that you should be pretty and get married; it's that sometimes you need to make sacrificed in order to reach your dreams. And you're going to make mistakes along the way, but you can always push through them. Sometimes you'll be prone to fits of crying on your bed, and that's okay. What's important is that you go out after and fix it. 

One more example--Cinderella is quite easily my least favorite princess, but she still deserves to be defended. So, Cinderella lived in the slavery of her step-mother and was only saved because she had the beauty and charm to make a handsome prince fall in love with her. She never would have gone to the ball if it wasn't for her fairy godmother and little mice friends; she did nothing for herself. That's not true, and I doubt that many girls who hate on Cindy have a life like hers. Even under the harsh treatment of her family, she still manages to stay kind and find joy and hope in life--which I think is the most important part of the story. She worked hard to finish her chores so that she would be able to go and fulfill her dream, and who can blame her for getting a little help along the way? Being kind to people, even the smallest of creatures who have no apparent ability to help you, and someone will always be there when you can't make it on your own.

As for hating on the princesses because they're all thin and beautiful, I think that's ridiculous. I'm definitely not a size 0, but that doesn't mean I hate on other people because they are. If the princesses were all overweight, that would just mean that it's okay for little girls to look up to that. You should be comfortable in your own skin, for sure, but having motivation to strive for a healthy body is definitely not a bad thing. This might sound a little cruel, but I don't think it's okay for girls to think it's fine to be super overweight, keep eating nothing but junk food, and not do anything about it because "I'm beautiful the way I am". And Disney still always stresses that inner-beauty is more important than outer. 

Last thing, I promise. The Disney Princes have been getting a lot of heat for their faults as well. I'm going to say it again: people aren't supposed to be perfect. You should learn to love people despite their faults. 

I'm done now. Sorry that my first blog post is a huge rant, but I just had a very deep conversation with JesJes, and I'm all fired up now. Just remember, Disney Princesses are awesome!