“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question always caused me to stutter, averting my gaze. My brother declared his major in astrophysics when he was five, my best friend snuck her epigenetics textbooks into history class. But the capricious child inside me couldn’t decide: A marine biologist? A Broadway star? A crazy cat lady? As I matured, some gear in my head locked into place: I want to be a magical warrior princess. It’s as simple as that. Armed with knowledge as my power, I want to battle worldly injustices and be an emblem of hope for others.
However, until recently, I felt more like a peasant than a princess. I was the studious little girl in the corner who ran for secretary, not president, scared to stand up for myself. …show more content…
They left me alone in a sea of Sailor Moons and Klingons. Yet I was content as I waited in line, initiating conversations with strangers from around the world. And they didn’t talk to me like I was a child; they saw me for who I really was: a warrior princess.
Well, they quite literally did see me as a warrior princess: I had dressed as Merida from Disney’s Brave and couldn’t walk far before a throng of little girls ran up and hugged my skirts. But the costume wasn’t a mask to hide behind. Here, everyone appreciated me as a talented cosplayer displaying her artwork.
Not only was I treated as an adult: I discovered that my interests had grown more adult. I was now enthralled by academic lectures such as “Physics in Video Games”, “Footsteps of Voyager” (the space probe), and “Getting Away With Murder”, a completely hypothetical forensics discussion. I did traverse the celebrity “zoo”, smiling briefly when I caught a glimpse of a famous actor, but I didn’t need autographs, unlike the star-struck little girl of prior years.
Eventually, though, DragonCon had to end. By Monday afternoon the fantasy was over, and I was studying furiously. After all, I had battles to fight and a kingdom to
However, until recently, I felt more like a peasant than a princess. I was the studious little girl in the corner who ran for secretary, not president, scared to stand up for myself. …show more content…
They left me alone in a sea of Sailor Moons and Klingons. Yet I was content as I waited in line, initiating conversations with strangers from around the world. And they didn’t talk to me like I was a child; they saw me for who I really was: a warrior princess.
Well, they quite literally did see me as a warrior princess: I had dressed as Merida from Disney’s Brave and couldn’t walk far before a throng of little girls ran up and hugged my skirts. But the costume wasn’t a mask to hide behind. Here, everyone appreciated me as a talented cosplayer displaying her artwork.
Not only was I treated as an adult: I discovered that my interests had grown more adult. I was now enthralled by academic lectures such as “Physics in Video Games”, “Footsteps of Voyager” (the space probe), and “Getting Away With Murder”, a completely hypothetical forensics discussion. I did traverse the celebrity “zoo”, smiling briefly when I caught a glimpse of a famous actor, but I didn’t need autographs, unlike the star-struck little girl of prior years.
Eventually, though, DragonCon had to end. By Monday afternoon the fantasy was over, and I was studying furiously. After all, I had battles to fight and a kingdom to