Growing up, before Frozen, Brave or The Princess and the Frog, I watched Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White find their prince. I watched Ariel nearly sell her soul for Eric, and Pocahontas give up her life to be with John Smith in England.
Like many young, impressionable girls, I fell in love with the idea of true love’s kiss and love at first sight; of happily ever after and ‘the end’.
I won’t blame Disney entirely, but we grew up believing that we can never be content without our Prince Charming; that we need someone to stand by our side through life. That we should have a happily ever after.
No matter how independent or happy we are, I think ultimately Disney taught us that we can’t, or shouldn’t be alone.
Fuck you, Walt.
In my opinion, this fantasy we’ve been indoctrinated to believe is why so many of us hold on to incompatible, unhealthy or ridiculous relationships. Why we would rather hold on to ‘our prince’, than be alone.
The truth is, the quest for finding our so called, ‘Prince Charming’, usually causes more anxiety, stress and heartbreak than it’s worth. We put up with disappointment, lack of being a priority and relationship or dating issues, which affect us in every aspect of our lives.
Of course, I’m a massive believer in love. I love love. But I also am acutely aware of how love can be the most painful thing in all the world. How being in (the wrong) love can hurt, and cause deep-rooted pain.
Disney lied to us about love. Love is a real commitment, with effort, time and hard work to keep it strong.
It’s not as simple as one single kiss and that’s it – happily ever after.
Disney lied because we need to love ourselves fully in order to be loved back.
Only then, you won’t need their kiss to hang on to. You won’t need their love to save you. No matter how lonely or awful you feel, no person will ever fix you like you think they will.
Beautiful people, you don’t need Prince Charming to save you. You don’t need another human being to be your saviour. You have your own precious and beautiful self.
I promise you, that’s all you need.
