I have been a Disney kid for the past nineteen (almost twenty!!) years. I have loved the characters, the stories, and the messages they send. However, Disney has also taught me some very unrealistic things about love.

Disney taught me that…

It's possible to fall in love with somebody by not talking to them

Ariel managed to land her prince by saying absolutely nothing. How? I have no idea. It doesn't work that way. You have to actually make the effort to talk to the guy.

You can spend just a few hours with somebody and be head over heels for them

Thank you, Cinderella for making me think that it's perfectly normal to spend just a few hours with a guy and several hours later when I have to leave the date, he's suddenly head over heels and determined to track me down and profess his unconditional love. News flash: that's what social media is for.

It's okay to change yourself for a guy/girl

This is also from CInderella. She completely changes her appearance and everything about herself in order to go to the ball and impress the prince. It works, but it shouldn't have to. You should not have to change anything about yourself for anyone. Be true to you.

It's okay to lie in order to find love

Aladdin, Ariel, Mulan (technically she lied to save her father and her country but she ultimately fell in love

with Shane so it counts). All of these people made me think it's okay to lie to the person you love in order to make them fall for you. Lying to the person you like in order for them to like you is NEVER okay. Always be honest, people. More often than not, the lies will come back and bite you in the butt.

Imprisonment leads to love

Now don't get me wrong, Belle is my favorite Disney princess, (this also applies to Rapunzel in a way) but keeping someone locked away forever will not make them fall in love with you, it will actually get you arrested and thrown in captivity yourself. I don't know what Disney was thinking when they made this seem okay, but it isn't. At all.

“True love's kiss” works

Snow White and Sleeping Beauty were wrong. “True love's kiss” does not work. You can't just kiss a sleeping or a semi-comatose person and expect them to wake up and fall in love with you. Life does not work like that.

Marrying someone you just met is perfectly okay

Now granted, Anna never actually married Prince Hans, but she probably would have had he not been an evil, backstabbing jerk (spoiler alert). Marrying someone you just met is not a good idea (unless you're on the reality show Married at First Sight).