Hello and welcome to my blog!
Ever
since I was accepted to Duke University, my mind has been buzzing with ideas
and fantasies about what my freshman year would be like. I imagined going out
with friends, long nights studying in the library, and late night heart to
hearts with my roommate. Never would I have imagined that at 11:30 on a
Wednesday night, I would be sitting on top of my twin XL bed, blogging.
Yet
here I am, because I was one of the lucky 12 people that had fast enough
fingers to be able to register for the highly coveted "Writing 101- Power
of the Disney Princess." I love Disney and always have. As a child I
watched Disney movies on repeat, and as a pre-teen I would ride the
rollercoasters over and over again at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I have
been to Disney World 4 times in my life, and I will never, ever get tired of
the Rockin’ Rollercoaster.
Over
time, tastes changed and my friends slowly replaced Disney Channel with
Netflix. However, Disney still maintained a presence in my life because of my
sister. My sister Keira is now 10, and we are seven and a half years apart.
Because of our close relationship, I got to know many of the "third wave"
Disney princesses, who were created during her childhood. I have really enjoyed
most of these new movies. I appreciate the fact that Disney is trying to
diversify their female figures in terms of race and nationality, but they still
have a ways to go. Even though Merida and Tiana gave my sister insight into a
new culture, I challenge Disney to create a princess who is not necessarily
tall, thin, and essentially, perfect.
I
am excited to rewatch many of the Disney classics with a more mature eye. In
doing this, I hope to learn more about the expectations placed upon women from
childhood. Personally, I grew up with a lot of pressure to perform well. For
me, this pressure motivated me to succeed. However, pressure like this could be
very detrimental for others. Even in these first few days of Duke, I have
noticed that there is a colossal amount of pressure. Are we holding ourselves
to unrealistic standards of success? How can we expect to combat this if young
girls are being raised to reach the unattainable standards of intelligence and
beauty portrayed seamlessly by each Disney princess? I mean, if Ana could save her village from an icy winter while simultaneously rescuing her sister AND getting a man to fall in love with her, couldn't I get a 5 on BC Calculus? (Turns out I couldn't #yikes)
I am looking forward to discussing possible
answers to these questions with my classmates and professor in the coming weeks.
Being at Duke has already provided me with a multitude of new perspectives, and
I know I can only continue to grow from engaging in discussions with others who also share a passion for the brand that has been a big part of shaping the lives of young women today.
That’s all for now, folks! To infinity and beyond!
Smell ya later,
Shaina
