The beginning of the school year can be a very stressful time for all grades. Freshmen are adjusting to a new environment, seniors are applying for colleges and sophomores and juniors are just kind of there. As autumn begins, the leaves fall and the rain pours, it can be depressing at times. But all it takes is a shift of mindset. Cramming for a test the night before? Wrong. Studying foreign affairs to help the kingdom. Right. Working out in the gym dying between reps? Also wrong. Instead imagine it as training to save your kingdom, like Mulan during the “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” scene. While it can be hard to make the mind shift from peasant to princess, there are some simple things that can help.
An essential part of every princess’ story is their bed. Beds are a safe haven and should be treated as such. They are the place of rest and how everyday starts and ends. Sleep apparel is an underrated but effective form of self care. A silk nightgown can bring elegance into the evening and elevate the luxury of bedtime. These can be found on Depop or local thrift stores and can double as a slip dress in the daytime to be like our early 2000’s princess, Carrie Bradshaw.
A princess isn’t a princess without their tiara. These can easily be bought at the Dollar Tree or any other costume store. Of course the quality of the tiara ranges from felt and plastic to a higher end rhinestone crown, but the idea and power of the headpiece remains the same. They add that extra, magical boost and are extremely versatile, and can be used in any situation including studying, doing chores, dancing around your house, and whatever else the heart desires.
Being a princess is all about self care and moments of connecting with one’s own power and being. These moments can be as small as taking time out everyday to drink a cup of tea while sitting and thinking about everything and nothing. It can be lighting that candle while showering to add ambient lighting even if it will last five minutes. It is the small, almost unnecessary and extravagant details that take everyday life from gloomy to glam.
On a more serious note, being a princess isn’t about the literal definition of the word. It isn’t about living in castles and a prince that slay dragons. It’s about that little girl or boy or child that had those dreams of whimsy and beautiful imagination that got lost as they grew up. Being in high school doesn’t mean that imagination and whimsy must go away. It can be incorporated into teenagehood as well and can be expressed in new forms and dreams.
