Who Are You, Really?

who are you,
really?

you are not a name
or a height, or a weight
or a gender
you are not an age
and you are not where you
are from

you are your favorite books
and the songs stuck in your head
you are your thoughts
and what you eat for breakfast
on saturday mornings

you are a thousand things
but everyone chooses
to see the million things
you are not

you are not
where you are from
you are where you're going
and i'd like
to go there
too

m.k.

Oh I love this quote-poem-saying-thing!!! Who are you, really? How do we see those around us, really? Do we see them for their race, their gender, their popularity ranking, or their social groups? What if we chose to see people for their stories? What if we got to know them as a person, we felt their joys and pains, we've seen the way their eyes light up with passion? Who are their friends? Why do they eat that for breakfast on Saturday mornings? What kind of a person are they? What do they believe? What are their values? I wish we could love people enough to know them and who they are, and love them so much, that no matter who they are, that we could always be there for them and want to go with them. Because what is the point of judging someone based on what you see? Once who get to know someone, you realize that everyone has a story and everyone really is equal, because everyone has joy and pain, and everyone is human. Moral of the quote-poem-saying-thingy: get to know people's stories, because everyone has a story, and it is worth it to know it, because it is worth it to love them.

Lavender's Blue

Well. Perhaps there is something you ought to know about me. I love Disney things. A lot. And that is a severe under-exaggeration. My family has been Disney fans their whole life, particularly my grandmother. So I grew up with it, and I don't regret a thing. I may know almost every word to every Disney song EVER. and I truly mean, EVER, including all those songs no one knows about like Bing Crosby's Katrina, and Darleen Carr's My Own Home. I even know Kanine Krunchies, Lack of Education, and The Phony King of England. I may even know It's a Small World in a few languages, including Swedish. But the other day, I've added a new song to that collection. Not traditionally a Disney song, but now included as one (in my mind), I have added a beautiful rendering of Lavender's Blue.

Global Citizenship? Yes, I'm coming to that. Activism? Yes, that too. But It might take me a moment to build up the background, which will probably result in a very long post, so please forgive me. That background all starts with Frozen. The movie was released November 27th, 2013. In May of 2013, I found out about the movie doing some Disney-fan-research online. Excited that there was a new princess movie in progress, I became immediately joyful and let my friends know. I then followed its release, for those eight long months, anxiously awaiting that Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Finally it came. We had night-before tickets, and we got Mexican food beforehand. And then we went to see it. Now, granted, I knew the whole story (Well, most of it. We knew that Anna was engaged to Hans at first, but ended up with Kristoff at the end, so we knew something had to happen there, but Disney actually kept the whole Hans-thing very secretive. We just assumed that Elsa fell in love with Hans :/ that was a mistake). But sitting in that theater, I knew what the story taught about. It taught about what I consider to be the values of Christmas (I absolutely love Christmas and Christmas time): Family, Courage, Faith, True Love, Hope, etc. And I knew that these were all beautiful things that I should honor and practice and pursue. Then, As soon as that Vuelie chorus played, and I saw the first snowflake on the screen, I started crying. I was already crying and the movie hadn't even started!
Snow has always been special to me, because it reminds me of Christmas, and it reminds me of those same values, When I see the snow fall, I am so happy and so joyful, because it strengthens me by reminding me of those values of courage, family, faith, love, hope, and more. And I was filled with peace as I watched that single snowflake fall from the sky. The movie continued to please me, and to this day I will declare to everyone I meet that I truly do love Frozen. But I don't love it because it was popular, I don't love it because she "didn't need a man to save her" I don't love it because it "broke the stereotype of true love's kiss" and I don't love it because it was a "cute Disney princess movie." I love it because it taught me about faith and hope and love, and because of the conversations that followed with my friends, the conversations about life. Crime and Punishment was also a large influence during this time, so we talked a lot about repentance, change, and becoming better people. As a result, I became a better person in the process. From Frozen and the conversations that followed, I became more forgiving, more kind, more loving, and more patient. I was more courageous also, to face my trials. I was so grateful for Frozen and what it did for me-- being a vehicle to my personal growth.

With that in mind, and as I continued to progress as a probable English Teaching major and English Literature minor, I had a continual heart and spirit for reading meaning into stories, be them novel, play, or movie. People ask me why I love Disney so much, and I tell them because It is a way to surround myself with good things, and strengthen myself.

And now we return back to Lavender's Blue. You might be aware that the new, live-action Cinderella came out last week. And I went to see it, by coincidence, the day it came out. I went in with very low expectations. I thought it would be entertaining, but I also thought that it would slightly ruin the original, beautiful story. But I was wrong. In fact, as of this very moment, I may even go as far as to say it is more powerful and moving than the original 1950 classic. But then again, that might be too far, I might change that quickly. Would I suggest it, though? Absolutely! It is so incredibly powerful and beautiful and moving.

I feel that it will quickly become the "new" Frozen. Because I loved Frozen so much, and because it brought me such peace and joy to stand in the theater-- a holy place, as it was fiercely transformed into. So I went back. And back. And back. I ended up seeing Frozen in theaters seven times, and collected every ticket, and cried every time. Already, Cinderella has been out a week and I've already seen it three times. I have a feeling I'm going to spend a lot of money on this movie, because this movie, too, has transformed the theater into a holy place. And just as Crime and Punishment was a powerful influence in the analyzing of Frozen, this class, the Global Citizenship Activism class, has been a strong influence in the analyzing of Cinderella. Plus, I am also preparing to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And that preparation has also been a strong influence. And, as last night proved, my dear friends and I are beginning to discuss the power, because it truly is power, of such a great movie.

So with that, I want to show a tiny glimpse of what Cinderella has meant to me, and how a song like Lavender's Blue could strengthen me when darkness closes in.To begin with, Ella's mother, before she dies, makes her promise to always have courage and be kind. An unlikely pairing of values, it has truly brought out a curiosity of the strength and relationship between them. And through it all, when Ella is faced with deep and heart-wrenching, tear-jerking trials, she is able to always come out victorious, through merely staying true to her promise to her mother-- always having courage, and always being kind.