Growing up as a young girl, I have always enjoyed fairy tales and princesses. However, as I grew older I started to realize that the princesses were always treated as "damsels in distress," something that I never wanted to be. In 2003, when the movie "The Cheetah Girls," came out I was immediately hooked, due to the lyrics of one of their songs. The song "Cinderella," really stood out to me, not just because of the upbeat melody or rhythms, but because of the words. The lyrics are as followed:

***

When I was just a little girl,
My mama used to tuck me into bed,
And she'd read me a story.

It always was about a princess in distress
And how a guy would save her
And end up with the glory.

I'd lie in bed
And think about
The person that I wanted to be,

Then one day I realized
The fairy tale life wasn’t for me.

[CHORUS]
I don’t wanna be like Cinderella,
Sitting in a dark, cold, dusty cellar,
Waiting for somebody to come and set me free
I don’t wanna be like someone waiting
For a handsome prince to come and save me
On I will survive
Unless somebody's on my side
Don't wanna be no, no, no one else.
I’d rather rescue myself.

Someday I'm gonna find Someone
That wants somebody's soul, heart and mind
Who's not afraid to show that he loves me
Somebody who will understand I'm happy just the way I am
Don't need nobody taking care of me
(I will be there) I will be there for him just as strong as he will be there for me
when I give myself then it has got to be an equal thing

[CHORUS]

I can slay (I can slay) my own dragons (my own dragons)
I can dream my own dreams (my own dreams)
My knight in shining armor (shining armor) is me.
So I'm gonna set me free.

I don’t wanna be like Cinderella,
Sitting in a dark, cold, dusty cellar,
Waiting for somebody to come and set me free.
I don’t wanna be like someone waiting
For a handsome prince to come and save me
On I will survive
Unless somebody's on my side

I don’t wanna be like Cinderella,
Sitting in a dark, cold, dusty cellar,
Waiting for somebody to come and set me free, no.
I don’t wanna be like someone waiting
For a handsome prince to come and save me
On I will survive
Unless somebody's on my side
Don't wanna be no, no, no one else.
I’d rather rescue me.

***

The reason that these words stuck out to me was because I believe them. I never wanted someone to have to "save," me, but that I could/would always be able to save myself. Over the last few years, I have become more and more interested in slam poetry and began writing my own works. This past April, I was even able to read two of my poems in front of an audience at my University and share what I had written. The topic of my poem was solely based on this song and how I am strong and how I do not need any recognition from anyone, but my own self. As well as dealing with my own personal struggles with my own issues and being able to overcome them. Here's a copy of my own original piece entitled "Happily Never After" :

Happily Never After

There I am waking up at the crack of Dawn to sing to all the birds.

There are no birds.

From the moment that I first opened my mouth, I was labeled “annoying,” “weird,” or “hey, where’s your hot friend?”

I have always been the background character in this thing called “life.”

Therefore I don’t speak much.

Since I was little, I have always believed in fairy tales, and that I was a princess, but often wondered why I never got my prince.

Was it because:

Snow White stole my prince when she was poisoned? Because I’ve swallowed so much poison that I shouldn’t even be alive!

Aurora stole my prince when she fell asleep, but I sleep all the time, why hadn’t he come to me first?

I am a wandering Disney princess who never got her fairy tale because her shoe, never fit. When Cinderella tried her shoe on, she wore them everywhere, even to bed!

I wanted a prince, but Belle can have Beast, because I am not that desperate.

I once fell in love with Prince Naveen (of Maldonia), but then I realized that I had to be a frog and I thought that I could do better…couldn’t I?

I didn’t like the idea that my “prince” would have to come and “save,” me, not because I was waiting for a princess to come save me, but because I wanted to be able to save myself.

Like Merida from “Brave.”

Or like Queen Else did, she not only saved her sister Anna but her entire town because she was able to “let it go.”

Or even like Mulan did because she saved all of China!

But then again, she did have to pretend to be a man to get what she wanted…

Because no man wants to same someone who destroys everything in her path.

Unlike the princesses, their sidekicks were always there to get them out of trouble.

I often compare myself to Pascal because he kept Rapunzel safe in her tower, even though he was too tiny to really do anything.

Then I realized, that I am the sidekick.

Since I was little I have always believe in fairy tales, but not because of the Disney princesses, but because of all the inanimate objects and creatures who the movie wasn’t directly written about.

I was once the ocean of vitality that Ariel swam in, but I have now become the sea of depression.

Rapunzel’s long golden hair, became the golden noose tied around my neck.

Pocahontas’ “colors of the wind” became the many anxieties that swam me every single day.

My little creature friends that once ran around in the forest with me, are no longer there when I need them.

Princess Jasmine’s magic carpet, could not take me anywhere far enough away, to escape the reality in which I live in!

Because in this world, I am my own prince, I am the sidekick, I have to save myself!

I am flounder, I am paranoid about everything, including right now, because I probably look crazy saying all these things out loud.

I am Sebastian, always trying to lead you down the right path, yet I would never judge you for being you.

I am the dress that you wear when you are complimented for your beautiful face.

I am a sidekick.

But all of this is internal, on the outside you see me as a happy princess who smiles and twirls around in her beautiful dress, showing the world just how happy she is.

But on the inside, I am a sidekick and my insides are as empty as Rapunzel’s castle, when she found HER true love.

Always remember, that no matter who you are or where you have come from, that in order to help others or find love for others, you must first be able to trust and love yourself.