I Believe in Happy Endings

By Kimberlie Haner on December 3, 2012

I love hanging out with my little nieces. Aside from playing with their fun toys and reading adorable books, they all love to watch Disney movies, especially princess movies. At the end when the princess kisses the prince, they jump up and down with the biggest grins on their faces. Watching them freak out reminds me of exactly how I feel, although I am a little more emotionally composed than my nieces are. Every time that I watch one of  these movies, I get the most amazing feeling inside of me when it ends happily. No matter how old I get, I will always love a happy ending.

I believe in happy endings. In a world full of despair and tragedies, we could all use a little bit of optimism to lift us up. This isn’t exactly a belief that I hide; after every book I read in my different classes that doesn’t have a happy ending, I am often the one to point out my dislike of the book for that reason. What some authors don’t understand is that there is a reason for making movies, books, and television shows with a happy ending: we love them. After coming home from a rough day at school or work, there is nothing better than sitting down on the couch and watching the heroine find her true love. Although it is not likely that I will get help from a crab and a fish to find my prince charming, I feel overjoyed when Princess Ariel does. I would never want to come home to watch a movie where the ending is dismal because everyone dies and where no one is even a little bit happy. Unrealistic or not, the reason that I sit down to watch a movie or TV show or to read a book is to make me happy, not to make me depressed.

I have heard people say that happy endings are bad because they are unrealistic; I ought to be preparing myself for disappointment. Frankly, that is absolutely ridiculous. The point of entertainment is to help us escape from our world full of trials into another place where things are better, a place where the hero gets a happy ending. In entertainment there is always a conflict that the hero must overcome. What concerns people is that the conflict is always solved, which does not happen all of the time in life; however, I am a firm believer that with the right attitude and desire, anyone can overcome their trials and have their happy ending, even if it isn’t the ideal ending that they expected. I’m not trying to tell you all that we are going to meet our soul mates in a magical way, because that’s not always the way it happens; nevertheless, there are little miracles each day that give me hope that I can find my own happy ending. Maybe it’s an A on a test that you studied really hard for or a phone call from a friend you haven’t heard from in a long time. These small boosts of joy help us realize that great things can happen in our lives.

I have learned so much from Disney movies, besides that they are excellent at bringing hope into my heart. Even though these are technically children movies, they are relevant to everyone. I have learned about family, friendship, determination, love, and dreaming, all of which are huge aspects in my life, from many of Walt Disney’s masterpieces. The situations of the movies may be far-fetched, but the values that the characters have and the way that they act are extremely important. One aspect that I absolutely adore about Disney movies is that they chase after their dreams no matter what. There may be a setback or two, but they are always determined to keep pushing forward to reach their dreams. One of the more recent Disney movies that I love is Pixar’s latest hit Brave. In this movie, the heroine Merida is faced with a difficult situation: her parents want men to compete for her hand in marriage. Merida just wants the freedom to decide her own fate. Throughout her journey, she discovers that the most important thing in her life is family. That is such an important message to send out to the world these days. It seems as if the importance of family is being diminished, which is a terrifying thing because there are few things in life that bring more joy into my life than my family.

All I know is that once I find one happy ending, there will be another beginning, which will mean that I have another happy ending to find. I will always continue to dream and dream until I can’t dream anymore. Walt Disney himself said “all our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” This is one of my favorite quotes because this is what I believe: I can reach my happy ending if I chase after it with everything that I have in me. I hope that even when I’m 89 and can’t even get off of the couch without making old people noises that I still have dreams and still chase after them. So the next time that my nieces brings me Cinderella to watch, I will continue to gladly pop it into the DVD player and watch it with her as it fills me with hope and pushes me to keep dreaming.

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