Hap-penis

If you think all the way back to your early years you will remember watching movies like Cinderella, Snow White and the like.  Typically when stripped of their pretty colors and talking animal characters what you have is a leading female who is emotionally abused by the dominant woman in her life, made to cook, clean and act as slave to the family.  She is patiently waiting, while someone is attempting to murder her or hold her hostage, for PRINCE CHARMING to ride up on his white horse with his sharpened sword to rescue her from this mundane existence. 

At an early age we begin watching these films, having these books read to us and without choice we are taught to buy into this belief.  A man will fix all the problems in our lives.  We are nothing without man.  Our happiness depends on that particular man finding us out in the woods singing and dancing with the woodland creatures.  It sure helps if you're young, pretty and thin too.

What is a modern woman to do? 

We should start by realizing, and teaching our own children, that these are just fairytales.  That no matter how much we want to, or how hard we try to, we may never find Prince Charming.  We may get Mr. Right Now...and sometimes we get lucky with Mr. Right For Me.  Beyond that we need self awareness, self respect and just a little dignity.  Not to mention self-love.

Happiness is relative.  Not everyone is made happy by the same things.  Some people are perfectly content to waste away their day feeling sorry for themselves.  The sad realization that life has a way of just happening and if we're not in the game, we're sitting on the sidelines wondering "why not me" is more common than anyone truly realizes.  Taking this into account we need to look inside ourselves, yet again, we need to ask those important questions about what makes us passionate, what we can and can not live without, what it is that makes us happy with ourselves and in our lives.  It could be anything, we are each an individual and what works for one person may not work for someone else. 

That being said I feel I must insist that although waiting for Prince Charming to come along is (almost) every little girls biggest dream, if you don't go out and mingle with like-minded folk, you are severely limiting Prince Charming's ability to find you.  He will NOT come knocking on your door uninvited.

So, while you're waiting, why not get a life?  Why not mingle, learn to dance, sing, pick up a hobby, race car drive, join a prayer group, take a cooking class, walk your dog.  Do something, anything, go find yourself.  That last one is rather important isn't it?  Finding yourself means finding your brand of happiness, what makes you tick.  Finding yourself leads to increased self confidence, self-love and by golly gee, it sure does make you more attractive to Prince Charming when he finally does get your address and come knocking.  The truth of it is that Prince Charming might not find you until you're 30 or 45 or even 70, so why waste all that time?  Why not believe that you are actually the heroine in your own fairytale, rescuing yourself?