Last night, I watched the movie Tangled all by my lonesome. I ain’t ashamed–that movie is an hour and half of sheer adorableness. (Long-haired singing princesses, unrealistically attractive animated men and hilarious animal sidekicks for the win!) But more importantly, it helped me put words to a feeling I’ve been having for a while.
There’s this scene (SPOILER ALERT!) where Flynn Rider and Rapunzel are sitting in a boat waiting to see the lanterns. The movie is all about how Repunzel has been dreaming of this moment her whole life, but as it’s about to happen, she says, “I’m scared.” Perplexed, Flynn asks, “Why?” She replies, “What if it’s not everything I hoped it would be?”
And BOOM! A fictional princess makes one of the most profound insights ever to be uttered in the middle of an animated children’s movie.
We’re all afraid of our lives turning out how we’ve imagined them.
I know I’m afraid, every day. My dream to be a writer scares me, because it is such a hard field to break in to and such a hard way to make a living. And the fact that I just met a ridiculously awesome guy yesterday scares me. My brain fills easily with “what ifs?!”
But it’s important to note that anxiety and excitement feel the same in our bodies. (Darn those identity-confused chemicals.) Therefore, we are the ones who choose how to label our feelings. I choose to be excited. I will become a writer because it’s what I’m meant to be! And I’m excited that I may get to know this great guy better!
Rapunzel is scared too, but she sits on that boat and waits for the lanterns to rise in the sky. She perseveres. And the pay off? Well, she gets to cross that dream off her bucket list and find a new one. Lucky for her, the new dream is a dark-haired, bad-boy, smooth-talking, hottie named Flynn Rider. (Please categorize her previous lantern dream under ‘L’ for ‘LAME.’)
So the moral of this little tale? Follow the example of this fictional princess. Don’t let the unknown cripple you–be brave. You never know what might happen.
