Disney Princesses

Its interesting that we brought up Disney in class on Friday, because my childhood hero's were all extracted from Disney movies--the animated classics that is. As a little girl I was very enamored of princesses in general so Disney provided a wide variety of characters for me to idolize. Of course I was picky with which heroines I admired-- I never saw Belle, or Sleeping Beauty or even Ariel as ones to look up, though i enjoyed the movies. I had two main heros throughout my childhood who I wanted to emulate in every way.

The first of these was Wendy from Peter Pan. She was both authoritative yet feminine. She hung out with a bunch of guys, plus she stole the heart of the biggest playboy in Neverland, resulting in great envy from the other women there. She also had a quiet courage to her, refusing to give up her mans whereabouts to Captain Hook, even if it meant taking the plunge.  I was about five when I first saw Peter Pan. I not only watched it religiously, I also demanded that people address me a Wendy and made my mother by me nightgowns like the one she wore, in which I would wait every night for Peter Pan to come knocking on my window.

My next Disney-made infatuation came several years later when "Aladdin" was released. I thought Princess Jasmine was pretty much the coolest chick alive. She was beautiful, well accessorized and rebellious. I too wanted to live as royalty in an exotic land, with magic on every corner and a sexy bad boy boyfriend by my side.

Basically my hero's were characters who I wanted to be because of their fortunate disposition and circumstantial adventures, not necessarily because of, lets say, their work ethic or personal achievements. Luckily my standards for personal hero's have changed drastically since then.