Wattmag Issue #9

Princess & Heroine

I love fairytales.

They have every element that I adore in stories. They are filled with adventures, magic creatures and fantastic characters, plus, there's a hottie involved in the picture!

When I thought about this article, I wanted to list a bunch of pictures where the Princess had to be rescued and how along the years, the role of being rescued to being the rescuer has changed. But then I thought that it was obvious, since we all know about Frozen and Entangled, and I'm pretty sure we've even sung their songs a few times.

So, then I though what makes a Princess, a princess. The answer is pretty obvious too. Either you're born into royalty, or you marry a Prince. Which sounds as easy as it sounds. If only there were enough Princes for us all!!

nstead, I thought about why most girls relate to Princesses, and it's not just about the beautiful dresses or the hot Prince charming or the dangers that may lie outside our castles. No. It's about who we are, and what sort of characteristics we share with the Princesses we see.

In my case (and I'm guessing everyone here), was Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I mean, yes, I liked princesses, but when I first saw this movie, I fell in love with it. Or more like I was obsessed with it. For real. I knew every line and all the songs (in English, because they sounded cooler in English than in Spanish) and I swear I watched it daily for months. And no other princess bewitched me the way Belle did.

Here's why:

1.She had that annoying strand of hair that never stays in its place because who the hell has tamed hair? I mean, for real! We can manage pretty hair after tons of different styling products and treatments that achieve to give us that kind of hair, and there's always that stupid strand that gets its way. Always.

  2. She loves books, and everyone here loves books, that's our common trait. She's smart, she's unfazed at the hottie in front of her and she wants more in life. Wow. Belle was definitely #lifegoals and after all this time, she still is. 

3. She's selfless and takes her father's punishment and even when she has the opportunity to run away, she helps the Beast because he helped her, and then... she doesn't care about how he looks, she cares about how gentle, kind and funny he is. 

How can you not love her!

Belle is what every Princess should aspire to be! She's not waiting for her Prince Charming, she doesn't have issues because she's different (unlike Elsa) and she's not as gullible as Rapunzel. Belle is normal, she doesn't even want to marry a Prince, she just happens to fall in love with him even when he's a Beast.

And the best part, is that she makes her destiny, there's nothing magic about the choices she makes or the help she gets. What she gets, it's well deserved.

So yeah, I might be somewhat biased, but Belle is one of the best written characters, and I'm really happy that they're reliving her story for all the little girls out there, and with Emma Watson, nonetheless.

And isn't that how a Princess ─ahem, or any other girl for that matter─ should be like?

To have goals, to be kind and compassionate, but most all, to do what you love, even if that means that you're different from others, but owning it, knowing that it makes you unique, and at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

We don't want to be like all the Princesses out there, we should aim to be our own version of Belle, because she rocks. And so do you.