When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess

I wanted to have long flowing hair like Rapunzel,

the voice of Snow White and the beauty of Cinderella

I dressed up and dreamed about castles

I wanted a prince and a crown and a ball gown.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess

As I grew up I started to understand this wasn’t realistic.

Normal girls didn’t become princesses. Normal girls became maids, dentists, accountants.

Normal girls went to nursing school or didn’t go to school at all.

Normal girls also had dreams like my princess dreams, but most of us don’t reach them.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess

but early on we got squashed like the bug under the boys’ feet at recess.

We got sexualized, cut-down, cat called, and raped.

And sweetheart, princesses don’t do that.

Princesses know proper etiquette and only speak when spoken to.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess

All of a sudden I realized I couldn’t be a princess because I didn’t sit with my legs crossed.

I couldn’t be a princess because I didn’t fit into a size four.

I couldn’t be a princess because I couldn’t sing beautiful soprano.

I couldn’t be a princess because I wanted to be more than that.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess

but slowly I saw the women around me also ditch their princess dreams.

As the days went by I realized that we were no longer considered “fit” to be a princess

because we cut our hair like the evil step mom, we had the booming voice of Ursula and the beauty of our own kind

we stopped cooking, cleaning and raising children how society wanted us to.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess

And I of all people at 5’4” and 200 plus lbs don’t fit the exact dimensions.

Subconsciously I think I always knew I would never be a princess

as I grew up, all of a sudden my passion was interpreted as anger

my inner fire was looked at with disgust rather than with admiration

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess

but it’s hard enough to fit in this world and princesses wouldn’t survive

a princess would sit back and bite their tongues

they wouldn’t speak up and get us the right to vote or own property

they would all get married to men, be housewives, and raise children.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess

Finally, I have realized I never want to be a princess.

I want to be a woman like Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, or Rosa Parks.

I want to travel, help others, and speak up when rights are being violated.

I want to have the strength and power of the warriors that saved princesses

I want to have the beauty of princesses but make it my own.

I wanted to have the power and confidence of Ursula, Cruella, and the evil queen.

And that’s exactly what I am going to do.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess.

But I ended up wanting to be a bad ass warrior queen.

So that’s what I am going to be.