Short Stories To Entertain the Intricate Human Mind

The House of Mouse

I. Love. Disney.

I mean, who doesn't?!

Disney is amazing. Genuine. The stories make me laugh, cry, love. (Sometimes on the cartoon characters, but we don't talk about that, now do we?)

I grew up watching Disney.

Each night before bed, I got to choose out of a series of old VHS tapes to pop into the VHS player, and enjoy a classic such as Cinderella, or something more modern, like Tarzan.

What can I say, Disney is my pride and joy.

I grew up poor. Very poor.

So poor, I worked 20 hours a week to help pay my parents bills. So poor, that I couldn't go to college because even though I could afford it alone, being gone would mean my little siblings dropping out of school to work.

Not to mention there were five of them! We got government help, so the more babies my parents had, the more help we got. Now, us kids never benefited. We still went to bed hungry some nights. But hey, the three inch nails and Sephora brand makeup my mother wears is worth her children thinning out.

I love Disney.

It got me out of my depression. Every day, all I would want to do is watch the princesses find their happily ever after, or Peter Pan soar in the sky, Wendy and her brothers close behind.

I love Disney.

I cried so easily watching the movies, because I was unhappy with my own life. I began thinking what would Aladdin do? Mulan?

They would fight.

So I began fighting my parents. My paycheck did not go to them anymore, and so my mothers nails disappeared. My siblings began following in my footsteps, until eventually we all shared a room in case our parents would try to beat us during the night.

I love Disney.

Every night, we'd take turns choosing a movie to watch. We'd fall asleep to any song that came on, and getting to school the next morning.

My twin brothers, both two years younger than me, turned 18, and in a span of four years, everyone one of us was older than 18.

My parents lost the majority of their income, and blamed it all on me. They would say during dinners how I ruined their lives, and turned our family against them.

Every one of my siblings went to college. I started taking night classes while I wasn't at work, and became a nurses aid.

The names were the worst.

Whore, hoe, bitch, slut, piece of shit. The list goes on and on. My parents told me I was their biggest mistake. That I'd never amount to anything. But look at them.

I love Disney.

My children and I now watch The Princess and the Frog and Tarzan every other night. The pride I felt, being able to take my children to Disneyland, let them experience the magic.

Yes, Disney isn't perfect. Far from it. In fact, Disney is a company that preys on its audience. I get that, and will never deny it.

But Disney saved my life. Sometimes just kept me sane.

I love Disney.