Body Positve Or Not?

I have been thinking a lot about body image lately and how it has become such a buzz word and such a movement in the past year. Not a day goes by that I don't see #bodypositive hashtags populating the internet. And don't get me wrong, I am not saying that this is a bad thing. We should be promoting a body positive movement where we see beauty in every person ... however, when did it become the thing to do? What I mean by that is ... when did our body image problems become so detrimental that we need a body positive movement to make us think higher of ourselves?

Body image is something that I have struggled with my entire life. As the chubby child who didn't wear name brand clothes (I LOVED my home made jumpers thank you very much), and whose hair channeled Hermione Granger long before her inception I was often made fun of. Once I added on braces, loving school and glasses? Forget about it. I was every middle school bully's dream.

I grew up envying the "popular" kids around me who were thin, pretty and who could step out of the shower with hair straight out of a Pantene shampoo ad. But why? I was a happy child. I had friends and I got along with my family. So why did I envy the beauty of others rather than focusing on my own, albeit goofy, beautiful self?

The problem of course, or so I believe, stems from the media. When we look at movies, magazines, books, commercials and TV shows it has always been rare to see a "normal" bodied human being represented. Now, I put "normal" in quotation marks because what is normal? When I say normal, I mean that we are not representing a variety of people. Even when the goofy "duff" of a best friend is represented ... the purpose of the movie becomes to make her the belle of the ball. Take off her glasses and run a comb through her hair and voila! She is Cinderella in the flesh. But why can't the goofy, awkward, not put together best friend fall in love with the leading man just as she is? Why is it some major transformation that finally wins him over? Can't he love her for her brains and personality first and looks second?

When this is what we encounter as stimulus overload day after day after day how can we be expected to live a body positive life? 

Disney in a Day

So you have one day set aside for Disney World ... what do you do? Why you do it all, of course! You make that day into a marathon of a day and you do everything you possible can because you can sleep when you are dead!

At least that is what we took that to mean ... On our vacation to Florida this month we were given a one day park-to-park pass for Disney World and we didn't really know what to do. So, we tried to do it all. We started our day at Animal Kingdom, spent our afternoon at Hollywood Studios and then ended our day at the Magic Kingdom. Three parks in One day. It was a whirlwind but it was amazing.

The last time I did the whole Disney experience, I was 7 years old. It was an incredible trip but admittedly I remember most of it through the pictures that my parents took.  At that point in the history of Disney, the Animal Kingdom did not exist yet. Neither did my long term memories, I suppose! Then 5 years ago we did a day pass at the Magic Kingdom and did it up! This trip, I wanted to see everything I could possibly see.

So ... here is how you see three Disney parks in a day!

Morning
Start your morning by heading straight to the Animal Kingdom. The park opens at 9 and I suggest getting there at 8:45 so you can take the tram in from the parking lot, get through security and make the most of your time there. I'm told that Animal Kingdom only takes a few hours and although we didn't do all of the rides, I can see how that is true. Though if you enjoy strolling through animal parks and on trails, this park could take you all day.

Upon arrival in the park head straight back to the Kilimanjaro Safari. This is a safari jeep ride through the animal reserve. The number of animals you will see depends on the time of day and the heat. I suggest going right away because animals are more active in the morning. We were lucky enough to see giraffes (include a baby), elephants, rhino, hippo, and many other animals that you wouldn't see at a normal zoo! Bring your camera and have it ready!

After your Kilimanjaro Safari, you have some options as to where you go next. BUT there are some things that you definitely SHOULD. NOT. MISS.

• Festival of the Lion King - This is an incredible show featuring song, dance, gymnastics and huge animatronics. The music is phenomenal and the show is incredibly entertaining. If we had more time, we would have watched this show again! The show lasts about 30 minutes and it is in the Africa section of the park. 

• Finding Nemo, The Musical - This is my favorite show of the ones we saw at Disney! It was AWESOME. This 40 minute musical is shown in Dinoland USA and is a show that you cannot miss. The musical tells the story of Nemo and has actors holding giant puppets for their characters. They are so effective that you don't notice the actors under the fish. If you have a special part in your heart for the Finding Nemo movie, then definitely make time for this. 

• It's Tough to be a Bug - This 4D show is really entertaining but might be scary to small children. It is in a theater that uses 3D glasses to bring the bugs to life. It would probably help if you have seen the Bug's Life movie, but it is an entertaining and somewhat smelly show...

Afternoon
Time's Up at Animal Kingdom! From here, head to Hollywood Studios! We were lucky enough to be there are on the final Star Wars weekend. Hollywood Studios was a fun park to be at if you have an appreciation for the movies. A couple of rides to hit at this park...

• The Great Movie Ride - This is a really fun ride that takes you through the history of movies. You will see scenes from famous movies made from Audio-Animatronics .
• Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular - This is a great stunt show that demonstrates how stunt doubles work in a movie. It brings the movie to life as they work out some of the stunts Indy uses in the movie. This show also involves audience participation! 
• Voyage of the Little Mermaid - This is a great 15 minute show that quickly runs through the story of the Little Mermaid. Ursula is a little creepy but the show is great! 
• Star Tours the Adventure Continues - This is a great ride if you are a fan of Star Wars! You'll meet R2-D2 and 3CPO as they take you on this ride. This ride has several different scenarios that you could experience so ride this one more than once! You'll have a different adventure every time! 

Evening
You only have the afternoon at Hollywood Studios so make sure that you head to the Magic Kingdom for the evening. The Magic Kingdom is open until midnight or 1 am depending on when you go so get ready to stay up late! We didn't do a TON of rides here since we had been to this park in the semi-recent past but be sure to hit the classics. 

• Haunted Mansion
• It's a Small World - Okay, so I know the song is annoying and I certainly don't need to ride this one more than once ... but come on! You have to do it! 
• Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid - this is a newer ride in the new and improved Fantasy Land and we were really impressed! 
• Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin - Help Buzz Lightyear capture Zurg as you try to shoot aliens!
• Electric Lights Parade - be sure to take a break and watch the Electric Lights Parade! It is a really fun parade with great music and lots of Disney characters making appearances! 

All in all, enjoy your day(s) at Disney! We were exhausted after leaving the park at midnight but it was well worth it! Show your Disney side! 

Have Courage and Be Kind

Tonight I went to see (for the second time) the live action Cinderella with my niece, Isabel.

There is a strong theme that runs through this movie that is actually one that should be heard loud and clear in our world and taken to heart by every Cinderella loving girl or boy. Surprisingly enough it isn't that a new pair of shoes can change your life - though I do openly and  wholly support the purchase of new shoes... But ... The message was much stronger and much more important than that.

Have Courage and Be Kind

What exactly does it mean to be kind? How do we define kindness?

Interestingly enough my students had a guidance class today which was centered on the idea of kindness. Their substitute guidance teacher started the lesson by asking them what it means to be kind to others? My students fumbled with finding a definition that didn't include the word 'kind'. They shared examples like "well it means to be kind to someone else" or "being kind to someone is well, you know, being kind". Nobody could actually offer up a definition of the word kind without using the word itself. They could, on the other hand, offer up a lot of examples of how you can be kind to others.

Kindness can be defined as being friendly, generous and considerate of others.

This definition doesn't seem too difficult to understand. Be friendly. Be generous. Be considerate. It all seems pretty straight forward to me. But ... if it really is that easy, then, why is it so hard to do?

I think the movie meant their phase "Have Courage and Be Kind" to mean two separate things. Have Courage. Be Kind. Two separate entities. I can absolutely see how that would be the case ... but I would disagree. I think that have Courage and be Kind to others can be seen as one message. Have the courage to be kind to others: be friendly, be generous, be considerate.

It takes courage to be friendly to those who are different than ourselves. It takes courage to be friendly to those who have differing beliefs than we do even if we believe they are wrong to our core. It takes courage to be friendly and not roll our eyes, or provide a snippy comment without thinking. It takes courage to be friendly rather than resort to violence or bullying. It takes courage to be kind.

It takes courage to be generous to those who are less fortunate than we are or to those who are more fortunate than we are. It takes courage to be generous with our time when we offer it up to others even when we have so much on our over flowing plates already. It takes courage to be generous to someone we have never met. It takes courage to be kind.

It takes courage to be considerate of others feelings. It takes courage to acknowledge their feelings and that what we say might hurt them. It takes courage to realize that words are stronger than actions. It takes courage to be considerate of how others might feel when you act out against their wishes. It takes courage to be considerate when standing up for what you believe in. It takes courage to be kind.

We all have loads of s*** piling up in our lives that we need to deal with on a daily basis. We all have trials and tribulations that we are fighting to overcome and we are all on different steps of that journey. And even though we would all like to be egocentric in our thoughts, words and actions ... we need to remember the importance of being kind.

Have Courage and Be Kind.

photo from here