Cinderella Changed My View On Life

I remember I was 13 when I first read “Cinderella”. If I remember correctly, I first listened to it on a reading website called MyOn in middle school because we had to read books on that website for 25 minutes. When I opened the website it was one of the recommended books for me. So I clicked on it and that was when my obsession with Cinderella started. I remember I read every single Cinderella book that was on that website and went on to watch the various Disney movies.

I remember sitting in the school cafeteria talking to my friends Nadia, Maddison, Mia, and Aryam about it, and on that day, they told me about the different kinds of fairy tales out there. 

Me: “ Hey guys guess what I just read”

Nadia: “ What”

Me: “ Will it was a story that I had to read in class it was called Cinderella”

Maddison: “ Oh” she laughed “Is this the first time you heard about it”

Me: “Yes, is that bad or something”

Maddison: “ No, you are just late to the party but what do you think of it”

Me: “Well I like it. I like how it shows how Resilient Cinderella is. The story is about a girl who gets help from her fairy godmother to attend a ball, fall in love with the prince, and get to live happily. And also the fact that the whole love story is just about the prince going around trying to find a girl whose leg will fit in the shoe. It sounds so stupid because in real life anybody can fit in the  shoe”

Mia: “ Sure, because losing a shoe is a normal way to find the love of your life.”

Aryam: “Yeah, but that is what makes it so romantic.” 

Nadia: “ Yes, but it is also funny how she goes from rags to riches and gets to be happy in the end.”

Me: “ Oh I just love it so much”

Nadia: “ Just wait until you hear about the other classics.”

Me: “Like what”

Aryam: “ Me personally I like Snow White, it is about a girl, her wicked stepmother/ the queen, magic mirrors, and adorable dwarfs. But really who takes a bite from a random apple? ”

Me: “What about you guys”

Nadia: “ Beauty and the Beast,  It’s about looking beyond appearances and finding true love, Plus, there’s a magical library! Who wouldn’t want that?

Maddison: “ The Little Mermaid is fantastic! It’s about sacrifice and wanting something beyond your world. It is a beautiful love story about following your heart.”

Mia: “Rapunzel is a tale about isolation, freedom, and the power of hair! You know like how Maddison and I can not stop talking about our hair”

Me: “Or looking at yourself in the mirror. You guys act like the queen from snow white.” ‘we all laugh’

What intrigued me about Cinderella was that it was about a girl who lost her mom and was now living with her stepfamily and dad. However, her father then died and she was now living with her stepfamily. Following the death of both her parents, her stepfamily started treating her poorly. They made her do all the chores. But what captivated me was how resilient she was through all of this.  She always treated them with kindness even though they didn’t deserve it. I like how even through all of this she found the positive side of life finding comfort in the little animals that lived with her in the basement.

One lesson that I learned from Cinderella that will always stick with me is to treat people how you want to be treated. Even if sometimes it didn’t exactly go well for her, however in the end she was able to find happiness because of the way her family treated her. She taught me that even in the darkest times there will always be a light that guides you through your hardest days. When reading Cinderella it made me feel special, because I always wanted to be like her. I used to imagine myself in her shoes, where I was dealing with her stepfamily, and how I would probably act the same way she did just to get a happily ever after. I also used to tell my mom about how I wanted to be in Cinderella just to find my Prince Charming.  

Me: “ Ma! Today in school I read a book called Cinderella! I want to be just like her”

 Mom: “Oh, What do you like most about Cinderella?”

Me: “ She gets to wear a beautiful dress and go to a ball! And she has a fairy godmother! She is also really kind, even to the mean stepfamily. I want to be kind like her.”

Mom: “ Yes, she shows that kindness can make a big difference.”

Me: “And she never gives up! Even when things are really hard, she keeps dreaming”

Mom: “Exactly! She teaches us to believe in our dreams no matter what. What dreams do you have, Tima?

Me: “I want to be just like Cinderella! And I want to help people, and find my prince”

Mom: “You can be a princess in your own way, start by being kind and helping others. That’s what matters. And maybe one day, you will have your fairy godmother and prince.”

Cinderella showed me that just because people look and act perfect on the outside. It doesn’t mean they are on the inside. It also taught me to never judge a person by how they portray themselves to be. 

‘For example, when Cinderella’s stepfamily are outside, they act nice to others. It reminds me of a ‘friend’ I had in middle school. She used to be nice to me when people were around and then mean to me when we were alone’. 

Thanks to Cinderella, I smile at people I don’t like because I believe in karma, and I believe that if I treat people badly, I’m going to get the same treatment back. So I smile at them hoping that maybe they will smile back at me. At the end of the Cinderella movie of 2015, I remember how she forgave her stepmother even though she locked her in the closet when the prince came looking for her. Which just made me like her even more, and made me feel connected to her in some way. Cinderella helped open my eyes to the world of fairytales. Through Cinderella, I was able to get to know different kinds of fairy tales like Rapunzel, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and even Rumpelstiltskin. I wanted to find other fairy tales that teach life lessons like Cinderella or that will impact me like how Cinderella did. If it weren’t for my first encounter with the website MyOn, I wouldn’t have gotten to know of a storybook, series, or movie called Cinderella.