Monday, September 26, 2011

Dating Like a Disney Princess

No one in my life is surprised when I talk about online dating.  What 20-something, single gal hasn’t dabbled in it?  I, for one, have been on a few random sites: a site for Church of Christ singles (where I learned that I’m not conservative enough), a free dating site (where I learned I’m too conservative for what those guys wanted), an online gaming community (which became a dating site for me, but let’s not go there), and finally a Disney Dating Site (where I found the most awesome travel buddy and coolest friend ever).   

The common thread that ties these, and all other, dating sites together is that you go into any “conversation” with the open acknowledgment that you’re both speaking to each other hoping to learn more about each other to begin dating and perhaps have your happy ending together.  Think about what I just said: you’re meeting a random stranger, based on a profile, and hoping he or she is The One.  It definitely makes some huge leaps.

I rewind and watch this song multiple
times when I watch this movie!
Yesterday a friend of mine cut her waist length hair for Locks of Love, and my first thought was “I really want to watch Tangled!”  Then my mind flashed to a couple of my favorite moments from the movie: the lantern scene where they realize they love each other *sigh* and the scene at the end where Eugene gives his own life to save Rapunzel’s.  A-mazing.  They met in real life, started as friends, and fell in love!  Well it did start with home invasion, violence, some deception, and happened over the course of what, 2 days?  It's not like we all don't have bumps along the way as we fall in love!  I mean, who doesn't have their man freak out a bit when they learn about your magical hair?  Oh?  Only me?  Hmmm.... moving on....

We can’t all be Snow White, Cinderella, or Ariel.  Those princesses saw their prince and were immediately head over heels in love.  No second guessing, perhaps some trials along the way, but they definitely ended up with the man they fell in love with at first sight.  Online dating, while I’m still willing to try it, is kind of like The Little Mermaid though: you see your prince, you finally work up the nerve to talk to him (if you can find your voice), and you hope and dream that this is your fairytale ending!  This man is the one you will marry!   

Really?! What kind of amazing communication can be had here? 
You have a singing bird, dancing fish, and an evil sea witch
has stolen your voice! 
That's a lot to get past all at once.
Do I really want that type of romance?   What did Cinderella really know about Prince Charming other than his fascination with shoes?  Did Ariel know more about Prince Eric than that he had a dog, played a flute fairly well (even if he was wasteful when he threw it out to sea), and had a great smile?  Sure Snow White’s Prince could sing, but what kind of interests did he have?

There's something sweet and almost kind...
If my dating life is like a Disney Princess, I want to be more like Belle.  She opened her eyes to what really made the Beast who he was, and they both brought out something better about the other.  He learned to love and be gentle while she learned the true meaning of loyalty.  Belle wouldn’t have dated based on an online profile picture!  No!  She’d want to know the size of a man’s library and would want a profile that she could read like a book. If he turned out to be a total stud muffin in the end, she'd see it as a happy little bonus, not a non-negotiable item on a list.

Oh Giselle! We shall be married in the morning!
Maybe I’m more like Giselle?  I joke that I’d like to fall out of a tree into my prince’s arms and have him exclaim that “we shall be married in the morning”, but what I really want is a prince like Robert who is realistic, laughs at my quirks, learns to enjoy a bit of whimsy with me, and grounds me a little.  I want a man that I get to know without the intent of falling in love and am happily surprised when we realize that we love each other.  Building a solid friendship based on trust seems like a good way to go.
I could watch this moment, when they're dancing and
realizing they're in love, over and over again!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m willing to continue trying online dating sometime, someday.  I’m not there right now though.  I’m just not sure what the solution to the start up intent is.  Do you always go into it hoping for a relationship, or do you go into it looking for friends?  I’ve made some wonderful friends via online dating sites, and I’d love to meet the man of my dreams, but sometimes I hope that he’ll end up being someone I’m already friends with or someone I’ve known in my past and we’ve since reconnected.  Really what I want is my own modern day fairytale because, trust me, when I find The One (or he finds me), he will be my prince, and I hope I'll be a princess in his eyes. 

3 comments:

  1. Love this post! What a great way to look at dating!

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  2. I hope your find your prince! Is there really a Disney Dating site?

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  3. Thanks, Beth and Marcia! :) Honestly I'm sorta blah about looking right now, like I mentioned in the end of the post, but maybe someone will show up that's perfect.

    There *is* a Disney dating site. I met Kyle, my good friend & traveling buddy, there. It's www.disdates.com. You can follow them on Twitter @Dis_Dates. It's free, and while it's still a fairly small community, it's really fun. I haven't been on in months, but I enjoyed the time I spent there. The concept is super clever: I mean, don't we all need someone who *gets* our love of Disney? :D

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