I love fairy tales. I'm painfully practicle and, although I wear dresses, I usually pair them with chukka boots. But despite my total lack of a "princess" aura, I am utterly in love with the fantasy of far away lands. I grew up watching every disney movie ever made and in response I spent most of my free time with Corrine either dressed as a princess or dressing our barbies as princesses. The years went by and instead of growing out of fairytales, they grew with me. The classic princess made way for a new kind of heroine. She was usually strong-willed and independent and always distinctly different from her peers. Whether she lived 500 years ago, or 1000 years in the future, or in a completely different dimension, she always had a greater purpose. She wanted justice-for her family, the nation, or the entire human race. Inevitably she found her self fighting evil, trekking uncharted territory, and befriending strangers all in the name of the greater good. And along the way, that boy that she hardly noticed before becomes her best friend and confidant. He slowly chips away at her heart that has been hardened by the focus needed to overcome such insurmountable obstacles. Suddenly his bravery, strength, and faithfulness shine in a moment when the heroines own strength and bravery aren't enough. And that's when she loves him back. I really love fairytales.
I've yearned to star in my own fairytale, and some how it miraculously happened. I've always been stubborn and focussed. I saw my chance to fight injustice through academics. I worked hard and am on my way (hopefully) to a PhD program in something along the lines of Pathobiology/Immunology/Microbiology. My fight is for improved healthcare in third world nations. I've traveled to far away lands and met incredible people. And along the way, that quiet boy on the frisbee team snuck up on me. He leant me his sleeping bag when I was sick and watched baseball with me so I didn't have to do that alone. He stood back as I wrestled with a broken heart. Before I knew it, I was in love with him. He told me that he would support me in my fight and hold me when things seem too difficult. Like every good heroine I gave into this love because I know that we are stronger together and because now that I've met him, I could never live without him. It's only fitting, that in true fairytale style, our story ends with a wedding.
Here's my dilemma. I've spent my life fixated on fairytales, hopelessly disconnected from reality. My infatuation goes so deep that I even constructed my own life to model those in the numerous books I devoured. But every fairytale ends the same way. The happy couple gets married, takes the thrown, and lives happily ever after. What happens in that "ever after" period? No one writes fairytales about the ever after part! How am I supposed to structure my life if the scaffolding isn't there? I guess the scarier question for me is, are the lives of the hero and heroine so utterly boring that no one ever bothered to write down their story? I want nothing more than to marry that quiet boy on the frisbee team, but I'm not ready for our adventures to end. I'm scared that I will only get one fairytale, and that that fairytale is quickly coming to a close.
I don't have a solution, really. I know that I'm marrying a man who loves a good adventure. And I know that I can't sit still. In the end, I will probably have to write my own fairytale that begins at ever after. Until then, I will wait patiently for the final chapter in this current story-the one where I get to marry the boy that softened my heart. I don't know about you, but the anticipation is killing me.
