ADVENTURES OF A LIFETIME

Nothing brings out the imaginative little girl in me quite like a Disney princess. We all have our favorites. Yup, we girls choose who we want to BE, and (guys – be honest) you dream of who you’d want to BE WITH. John loves Belle, so how he ended up with this self-proclaimed Sleeping Beauty, I guess we’ll never know. But I sure hope his happily ever after is as happy as he’d hoped! And I guess I should admit that I too have a special place in my heart for Belle.

After my first year at BYU I landed an internship at the happiest place on earth. So I packed up my stuff on the West Coast and headed for the Sunshine State. I was aiming to be a princess, but somehow ended up as a candle. Lumiere to be exact. I couldn’t have asked for a cooler place to work than The Beauty and the Beast Show. But from my vantage point backstage (and from within a 3 foot candle headpiece) I still dreamed of being a princess.

My favorite 10 seconds of the show came right before it was my turn to go on stage. Without fail, I stared mesmerized as if 4 years old all over again. There, with the best view in the whole amphitheatre, I watched Belle take center stage. Then the music climaxed as she ran into the glow of the spotlight and with arms outstretched she sang…

“I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell. And for once it might be grand, to have someone understand. I want so much more than they’ve got planned.”

There, alone in my guise as a flirty French candle, I sang along. I was an 8 foot candle who completely melted at the sound of Belle’s plea for adventure. I couldn’t help myself! And with that, my magical princess moment passed. The narrator continued on with the show, and that was my que to get my debonair self on stage.

So let’s flash forward to the present. A slightly different costume going on these days ;) But that memory has made its way to the forefront today. And how could it not? I sit at a desk for 8 hours a day answering phones. Can we say lots of time to think, and oh so few to share my thoughts with? (Now you understand why my posts can be so lengthy! haha) Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my job and I’m VERY grateful for it, but those words still ring in my ears as if I’m 5 feet from Belle all over again. This time it’s a little more awkward when I mouth the words though…me not having a fiberglass head to hide behind and all. I guess there’s just something within me that longs for adventure.

Anyone else get that itch for adventure? It’s like any other itch we might have - if you don’t scratch, it eventually goes away. But the truth is, I don’t want this itch to go away! This longing for adventure is what helps me try new things and explore the world at large and most importantly…face (and overcome) my fears. So while I might not be hopping on a plane to work for Disney again anytime soon (although if John could get a job with Disney’s legal department – I’ll be back in a heartbeat!), or flying to Ghana to film a documentary, or watching a Tennis match at Wimbledon - I’m determined to still somehow make every day an adventure. Today that might only mean discovering a different running path (pepper spray in hand of course – thanks Ellen!). But who knows, tomorrow it might mean venturing on a mini-vacation or actually finishing that children’s book I’ve been working on.

I’m learning that adventure can mean so many things – it’s all a matter of perspective. And, as every Disney employee learns, the greatest adventures must start with a dream. So today I’ll be dreaming of big adventures while enjoying the smaller adventures along the way. I know they’re out there, I just have to discover them.

Oh! And before I end this post…I’m oh so curious: Which Disney princess did/do you dream of being? Or being with? And why?

My Disney princess on a pedestal can’t be narrowed to just one woman. If possible I’d like to make the following combo:
Personality – Belle from Beauty and the Beast
Looks – Aurora from Sleeping Beauty
Talent – Ariel from the Little Mermaid (that girl can sing!)
Boyfriend – A Prince Eric/Prince Phillip combo...er...I mean John Sigety...Prince John Sigety ;)