When I was 5 years old in kindergarten, I had a boyfriend. His name was Fernando and I thought he was cute. Our relationship mostly consisted of him chasing me around the playground and trying to kiss me. Little did I know that this would be a foreshadowing for my entire life.
As a little girl, I would sit wide-eyed at the television watching Snow White be kissed by the prince to save her life, Sleeping Beauty kissed by a prince to save her life, the Little Mermaid kissed by Prince Eric to save her life. Man that's alot of kissing for a young girl to take in! When I would see a couple kiss I would say, "they are into love". How adorable and fantastical to think that one day I will get to have a kiss and be in love and maybe even by a prince! All of the fairy tales, stories, and movies were all about love.
My parents would tell me that one I will have my own prince charming who would be worthy of me. Ah Fernando, was he the one? Of course not, but at such a young age and looking for a prince, one could only hope. "We were kindergarten sweethearts. Life never changed us and we've been blissfully running around the playground for years.", I would say. "And she still won't let me kiss her.", he would say (insert phony roar of laughter here). Alas, Fernando was not in my class in first grade and I had moved on to a boy named Chris who promptly dumped me when I farted in music class. Who knew that was a bad thing?
After I told my mom about this, she told me I wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend until I was 16. 16?!?! That was 10 years away! How was I supposed to find my prince charming if I had to wait for 10 years? How was I supposed to be like Belle and save the beast (who turned out to be a prince much to my surprise!)? Fortunately for my parents, I actually did what they asked. No boyfriends. Was I the one kid ever to listen to their parents and do what they asked in this regard? Sometimes I think so.
It is expected of little girls to play dress up and pretend. We pretend like we are damsels in distress or mothers playing house. It is something that the media and society and our parents instill in us. And we dream of magical carpet rides and singing shell fish and far off exotic lands filled with adventures and princes. One day we can have it all, not the "American Dream" but a little girl's dream.
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