When I was a little girl, around four years old, I remember laying next to my mom in her big king size bed talking about what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told her with such excitement that I wanted to be a princess! She paused and then looked at me with love and condolence, only the way a mother could, and responded, “Sweetie, the only way to become a princess is to marry a prince.” What!?! I said, I have to marry someone! I was seriously devastated, how could someone else control my dream? I remember crying in her arms as I took in the tragic realization that marrying a prince would be very difficult to do. Funny that I remember that day like it was yesterday.
In Portland we have one of the biggest Rose Festivals in the country. It is tradition that each high school within the city crown a “Rose Festival Princess” (now more politically called ambassadors) to represent the city in all the festival festivities, including the big Rose Festival Parade. I almost graduated from high school a year early but my mom convinced me to stay, telling me my senior year would be the best. (A little side note here, I actually loved high school (I know dork!) but all my friends were going to college in California and I wanted to go too.) That year I tried out to be on the Rose Festival Court and was crowned our schools “Princess.” It was such an honor because the student body were the ones who voted. I remember my mom coming up to me and she said, “I guess I was wrong, you didn’t have to marry a prince.” It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had!
I guess the moral of the story is, sometimes what we wish for does not happen the way we imagined it would. It make take another form but it will still happen if you take a risk and put yourself out there.
I think of this story when I am going through a rough patch. It helps me remember that you can not always control the timing of things but you can and should believe! Each day I wake up knowing that I am here for a reason and each day is another opportunity to wear the crown of my destiny. What is yours?
Shine ON!!!
Keri
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