Ever since I was a little girl I have grown up with the magic of Disney movies in my life. When I was young I always wanted to grow up into a princess and find my Prince Charming in order to have my "happily ever after." These lessons have stayed with me for the past 21 years of my life and I know will always be an influence on how I live my life. As I watch the movies as I get older I notice the many life lessons within each one of them and the greater impact they have had not only on my own life, but that of everyone who watches them. Disney has not only been a way to always bring a smile to my face but has created an escape that I can go to whenever things in the "real world" seem too much, whether that mean actually going to Disney World, watching one of the many movies, or just listening to the soundtracks from the films.

1. Follow Your Heart

One of the most prevalent theme in these movies has been that we must follow our heart in order to achieve true happiness. This can be seen when the princesses search for their princes but can also be seen in other ways. Such as in Princess and the Frog in which Tiana wants to build her restaurant or Pinocchio wanting to become a real boy. These movies have taught me that we must set big goals and that if we can reach them easily they are not big enough goals. These movies have also taught me that you can only achieve these goals through hard work and that nothing will just be handed to you. If you want to achieve greatness you have to put in the effort to be great.

2. You Can Achieve Anything As Long As You Believe

Disney movies have always taught me that nothing is impossible as long as a little effort is put in. Failure is only possible if you never try. You have to believe in your own dreams cause sometimes you may be the only one who believes them and if you want them to come true, you need to believe. Dreaming is the greatest thing we can do and it is how we can reach the most out of life. Pinocchio wanted to be a real boy and that is what he eventually became. Cinderella wanted to find her Prince. Tiana wanted to open her restaurant.

3. Beauty Comes From Within

When most people think of Disney they only imagine the perfect "Prince Charming" look. They forget that not all characters that have been in these movies are this stereotypical image. This can be seen greatly in the storyline of Beauty and the Beast. This movie shows people, especially kids, that love is not found based on physical beauty, it teaches us that we must look within to see true beauty and love. Love people because of what lies on the inside. Not outward physical appearance.

4. Family Is The Most Important Thing In Life

Not all Disney movies have been about finding one's happily ever after in the sense of finding true love and getting married. There have been multiple movies in which the premise of the story revolved around the connection between family members. Some examples can be seen between Nani, Lilo, and Stitch in Lilo and Stitch, Merida and her family in Brave, Anna and Elsa in Frozen, and throughout all the characters in The Lion King. Family is the one thing that will be there when no one else I so it must be treasured greatly because we never know how much time we will get with our family so we have to make every moment count.

5. With Friendship We Can Achieve Anything

With every Disney movie has always been the role of the helpful sidekick, most of these characters often being an animal. Rapunzel had Pascal, Flynn Rider had Maximus, Jasmine had Rajah, and Aladdin had Abu. Friends are the family we choose for ourselves and they are the ones who help us when we are struggling and those that help us when we need it the most. As Toy Story once put it, "You've got a friend in me."

6. True Love Is Found Where You Least Expect It

In most of the princess movies, the princess found her true love where she never expected that she would. She found it in someone who she did not expect to fall in love with. Jasmine fell in love with the poor street rat, Rapunzel with the town thief, and Belle with the Beast. True love is about finding the person who brings out the best in us and sometimes we cannot look for this love but it must be brought to us on its own. Love cannot be defined by physical appearance, personal possessions, or through the opinions of others. It must be found through one and only one way - it must be felt through the heart. This is the love we must all wait for and capture once we found it.

7. Have Faith

Disney has taught me that sometimes the greatest magic comes from just believing. We live in a time in which we feel we must be logical in every aspect of our lives. Sometimes though the best thing to do is just believe and have faith in what we cannot control.

8. Never Give Up On Your Dreams

I have learned that no matter what we must always believe in our dreams because they are what brings joy into our lives and give us the hope we need to go forth in life's little adventures. People may say our dreams are impossible but through Disney I have learned that anything is possible as long as we have the courage and strength to pursue them.

9. Good Always Defeats Evil

Disney has helped to teach me that we all get our "happily ever after". I believe that if we want the next generation to believe that the world is a good place and that they will get their happily ever after that we must always instill in them that good defeats evil. It will give them the hope they need in order to accomplish everything they want in life.

10. You Are Capable For More Than You Think

One of the first Disney movies I remember watching as a child is Winnie the Pooh. Through this movie I remember learning about friendship but also about having faith in oneself and that we all possess the ability to achieve greatness. We often do not give ourselves the credit we deserve and sell ourselves short, but through Disney I have seen that anything is possible and we can achieve whatever we put our minds to.

11. Do Not Let Your Past Define You

We often let our past dictate our present and our future. We base our decisions on the opinions of others and classify success based on outward appearances and factors rather than by potential. We also often use the past as a hindrance rather than a guide for our future. Disney has showed me thought that we must learn from the past and use it to better our future rather than to prevent our future from occurring. Our only limit is our self.

12. Keep Moving Forward

In life we often get so caught up with the little things that go wrong that we forget to admire the beauty and greatness that surrounds us. We all go through hardships at some point in our life but is important to remember that happiness will return eventually and we cannot dwell on the negative or else it will pass us by. We may go through a loss, such as Simba did in the Lion King or Tiana in Princess and the Frog, but we must use those experiences to make us stronger rather than to stop us from enjoying the beauty of life in front of us.

13. "Have Courage and Be Kind"

The quote says it all. Disney has taught me that we must possess a courage in us that we often forget exists. Merida and Mulan are both great examples of inner strength and courage, it is through them that we can see that a courage exists in each and every one of us. Be kind. What else is there to say? We must always be kind, even to those who do not do the same to us. It may be hard but we must do it because it is how we would want to be treated.

14. Live Life With No Worries

There is a time and place in which we must be professional but we must also remember that sometimes we just have to let life take us on the course we were meant to be on and accept it. We must not worry about every little thing that could go wrong and just enjoy life because we do not know how many days we will be given in this life.

15. Your Differences Are What Make You Special

We often see differences as a bad thing when we should really be embracing them. These little things are what make us each unique, it would be such a boring world if we were all the same. Nemo had his fin and that fin is what made him who he was. Beast may have had a different outside appearance, but that also made him develop a compassion in him like no other. Belle was the outsider who was more interested in what was on the inside than outward appearance and it was what made her so special. We must learn in life to embrace ourselves for all that we are and it is through that that we will be happy.

16. Keep An Open Mind

Sometimes we forget that other people are affected by the actions that we take. We forget to see things from someone else's point of view and because of it, we may hurt them, even if it is not intentionally. Disney has helped to show me that we must look at things from all points of view and to also not dismiss someone's opinion or way of life just because it is different than my own.

17. We Are All Human, Even If We Possess Differences

We live in a society that often forgets that even those we may possess physical differences, on the inside we are all the same and we are all human. We often judge too much that we forget we are all the same and that we must treat each other with the same love and compassion.

18. Never Stop Trying

We will not accomplish everything the first time we do it, that does not make us a failure though. A failure would be a lack of trying, it would be once we give up. If we always go forth and put our best effort in than we can do whatever we set our heart to.

19. Believe In Yourself

There is only one of us in this world and Disney has helped to show me that beauty that we each hold. Life is a tough place but if we believe in ourselves than we can truly accomplish anything and everything. Half of accomplishing anything is believing that we have the ability to do it.

20. Do The Right Thing

When making our decisions we often do so based on what will be easiest for us. Disney has taught me though that it is not always right to pick the easiest choice, but we must pick what is the right thing to do. Life is not always black and white and sometimes we have to make tough decisions that may not be the best for us but will be the best decision because they are the right decision, it is those decisions that we must make.

21. Be Who You Are

In life we often try to be so much like others because we see them as better than ourselves that we completely forget about our own originalities and greatness. Disney has taught me that we each possess our own greatness that we must embrace and that it is by being ourselves that we will live our best life possible.

22. Live Life To The Fullest

I often find myself worrying about the future or thinking about something that happened in the past, sometimes so much that I forget to love in the present. Disney has taught me that the past cannot be changed and we shall not worry about what we cannot change, we can only live in the now and make it the most beautiful and wonderful time we can.

23. Be Nice To Others, Always

There will always be people we meet that may necessarily be the kindest to us and will try to bring us down but it is important to remember that even if they are not kind to us we must always be kind to them. Our kindness or lack thereof towards them does not reflect the personality of the unkind person, but reflects that of us so we must always show that even when we are not being treated kindly, we will always be kind and caring towards others.

24. Magic Is Everywhere

As we experience the magic and joy that is Disney we must always remember that it all started with a mouse. We always think of magic as wizards and whatnot but do not realize that it is around us everywhere, especially in regards to Disney. Magic is the spark that is present in the innocence of a child's eye. It is the love and joy we witness on a daily basis and can always be present as long as we can look for it and believe in it.

25. Sometimes You Just Have To Be A Kid Again

People often ask me if I am too old for Disney and that I should like more "adult" things because Disney is for kids. But the truth is sometimes we all just need to have that innocence of childhood back in our lives, we need that little spark of hope and magic, and we need that escape and reminder that the world may have its problems but there is beauty all around us and anything is possible.