Who said, “Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional?” The man, the myth and the legend, Walt Disney.

Arguably, Disney is the PediaSure of Florida youngin’s. We were born in the sunshine state and raised on Disney classics.

"Toy Story," "The Lion King" and "101 Dalmatians" were only the starter kit for your education. You learned all the words to ‘The Bare Necessities’ before your A-B-C’s.

Maybe you rocked at Disney Scene-It trivia before you graduated from kindergarten. From only a single song or character you could recall the movie’s full title and whether it was produced by Walt Disney or Pixar.

Every Halloween you dressed up as a different Disney princess. During the holiday season, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas was THE place to be!

Nearly every family vacation was spent at a Disney theme park. In fact, the pictures taken in front of Cinderella’s castle could provide an accurate timeline of your personal growth.

So, now you are a legal adult. Yet, ‘Wish Upon a Star’ and ‘Tale as Old as Time’ still make your soul feel light. ‘A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes’ inspires you to hope for what your advisor decrees impossible.

Some of my favorite Disney melodies (because you can’t possibly pick a favorite, that’s blasphemous) include ‘Just Around the Riverbend,’ ‘Reflection’ and ‘A Whole New World.’

Due to my complete disinterest in attending FSU, I wrote my application’s essay as an expose on Disney’s ‘Pocahontas.’ The essay opened with the lyrics;

“What I love most about rivers is that you can’t step in the same river twice, the water’s always changing, always flowing, but people can’t live like that, I guess, we all must pay a price, to be safe we lose our chance of ever knowing, what’s around the river bend?”

When Disney’s songwriters Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken penned those lyrics for Pocahontas they intended the song itself to serve as metaphor for her decision to choose “the smoothest course, steady as the beating drum,” or choose to explore the adventure of the unknown. I understood then and now that choosing a college also provides the applicant with a complicated crossroads because each university offers a unique aspect that one must sacrifice if they decide to enroll somewhere else.

As Mother Willow advised Pocahontas in Disney’ rendition my guidance counselors told me that when choosing my future career, I must “listen with my heart.” Since I have numerous interests, choosing one was almost as difficult as Pocahontas having to choose between John Smith and her own tribe. Eventually, my compass pointed in one direction and the arrow is no longer spinning crazily!

Much like any teenage girl, I struggled with loving the mess that is me. Mulan’s song ‘Reflection’ truly spoke to that struggle to become who I was meant to be.

“Look at me

You may think you see

Who I really am

But you'll never know me

Every day

It's as if I play a part

Now I see

If I wear a mask

I can fool the world

But I cannot fool my heart

Who is that girl I see

Staring straight back at me?

When will my reflection show

Who I am inside?”

Lastly, ‘A Whole New World’ will forever remain dear to my heart because that is the song my Mom sang when she met my Dad. Singing during one of her friend’s wedding ceremony, my Mom entranced my Dad with her beautiful voice (much like Ariel, Disney’s little mermaid). As providence would have it, they were going to be set up by my future aunt and uncle at the reception, but my Dad approached her beforehand.

Thereafter, the rest is the love story that culminated in me. I love to say that I was born of song.

This past weekend, I got to make a long-awaited pilgrimage to Disney’s Animal Kingdom with my sorority sisters. While walking the park, I regained some of the childlike joy and expectancy that only Disney’s atmosphere can engender.

The park’s newest addition "Pandora" fit Animal Kingdom’s theme perfectly because they stressed the need for environmental conservation.

Yes, we did wait for three hours to ride a ‘Banshee,’ and the whole ride my hands were so sweaty that they began pruning. However, I wouldn’t have felt my experience was complete without virtually experiencing the world of Avatar.

At the end of the night, we took our seats for the water show called ‘Rivers of Light.’ Dazzled by floating lotus flowers and projections on walls of water, I was moved to tears by the song:

“It's alright, it's our call
Every creature great and small
If we stand alone
We stand to lose forever
Raise your hands, to the sky
On this journey you and I
We'll grow stronger than we know
If we stand together
Feel the rain
Face the wind
Touch the earth
And take it in
Touch the sea
Feel the light
Live the fullest of this life
Sad and stone, fresh and bold
We are one
We are one, with the oceans
With a, through the sunlight
Everyone, heals harder
Flowing in the wilderness
We are one, any nation
With a, celebration
Touch the earth
Feel the sun
We are one
Touch the earth
Feel the sun
We are one.”

We only have this one planet. We are stewards of the land and creatures that inhabit our world. That being said, we need to value the people who also call Earth home. At the end of the day the only race that should matter is the human one.

Watching this show, every aspect of Disney’s Animal Kingdom coincided. From Earth’s earliest days, when mammoth dinosaurs roamed till the future when extraterrestrials may also call our world home; we need to act responsibly and compassionately in the present to prepare our Earth for a better future.

Our world and the creatures who share our same cosmic area code are magnificently beautiful. I was convicted to spend more time appreciating the natural wonders as well as my fellow man and beast.

In summary, where does the majority of the population wear mouse ears? Where can one be sprinkled with pixie dust?

Disney, ‘You’ll Be in My Heart.’ Thank you for providing a place, where I can ‘Let It Go.’ Your songs and stories are my ‘Spoonful of Sugar’ that help the medicine of life go down.

Until next time, see ‘ya’ real soon!

-This article was written listening to orchestral performances of Disney classics.