Hello, amigas cheetahs! Sorry I’ve been M.I.A. for a while, I’ve just been so busy with work and I really haven’t had time to write. But I’m back and newly inspired. As I was tucked up in bed scrolling through my Facebook feed, I came across this video of a guy dressed in a cheetah print shirt with a wig on, lip syncing and dancing to the song “Cinderella” from "The Cheetah Girls" movie. At that moment, I had a feeling of nostalgia, considering I was the biggest groupie for the former amigas cheetahs. It took me lip syncing alongside with him to realize how much I looked up to these girls and how much I’ve learned from them throughout the trilogy. Not only would I go to bed watching these movies, but I would also play them on my portable DVD player when I went out. From August 15, 2003 my life was going to change forever…let me stop, I’m just being dramatic. But I did learn a lot of lessons that I cherish and still live by in my everyday life from these four empowering girls.
One of the main things that stayed with me that was a big theme throughout the movie was friendship and how the bond they shared was almost like a sisterhood. They looked past their differences towards what was the next step for their careers, and put their friendship before everything else. They had each other’s backs -- even when Dorinda wasn’t being completely honest with her friends about her living in a foster home, Chanel took it upon herself to buy her the most cheetahlicious clothes to cheer her up, even though it took stealing her mom’s credit card to attain them. It was always about sticking together through it all, and that’s what I’ve incorporated into my lifestyle when it comes down to my friends.
Growing up, I was always taught to
respect my friends' parents, but the bond usually turned out to be more than
just respect. It was more of them shadowing my own parents, and that was the
kind of bond the girls had with Galleria's parents, especially her mom. You can
make the argument that a part of that was because she was their manager, but the
relationship was more than just business. Her mom really had good intentions
for these girls and was always wondering how they were genuinely doing. I am
very close to my best friend’s parents, to the point that they’ve taken on the role of my
second pair of parents. It might just be a culture thing, because Spanish
parents really take on that role to foster other people’s kids, but it’s never
seen as weird or out of place. It’s very comforting, and I enjoy that kind of
open bond that the Cheetah Girls share with one another.
Something that they always stuck with was putting each other over boys. If boys came along on their journey after they had already succeeded in their careers, then it was totally cool to date, but they always put each other and their goals before guys, and that’s how it still should be. Women should always work on themselves and what they want to aspire to and shouldn’t let silly boys impair their focus. After all, there’s always time for work, but also time for play.
Lastly, they never let their own issues with each other get in the way of their real friendship. When Aqua and Dorinda were straying away from the group because they thought Galleria was being too controlling and Chanel had her back on it, in the end they all ran to help Galleria's dog get out out of the pit, and that’s what truly brought them together. No matter what silly little arguments go on with your friends, always think about the better times and that’ll help you get through them. Till next week -- bye, chicas!
