re-reading princess diaries
May 22, 2015 |
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I don't actually remember, but I think my first time reading the book (the indonesian version) was when I was on junior high school. At that time, I was an avid reader and started to buy my own novels. My collection pretty much starting from that time.
Princess Diaries gets on me pretty fast (obviously) because of its fairy-tale-ish story of an ordinary american girl suddenly being a royal princess of a small country. Of course she also had her own (seemingly petty for a twenty-something me) problems about her bad hair, her too-tall body, her too-big feet, her unspoken crush, and her genius best friend. I'm seeing the stories differently to when I was in junior high school. I never thought that Lilly is annoying or Mia is way too dramatic back then. Also the culture was too different, at least from what I had experiencing.
The best thing is that it was written in a diary format. I wasn't a diary writer in my junior high, but now, that I have started the habit in high school, I fall in love (all over again) and fully understanding about Mia's rambling in her diaries (also fully acknowledge her habit of writing in classes because I did that too, most of the time).
But of course I'm not going to review the book here (See, I'm pretty expert in the rambling area). I'm actually going to quote one of my favorite part from the fourth book, Princess in Waiting. This was when she already going out with Michael Moscovitz, and admitting that she might be different to other people.
She went :
But whatever, I could deal with that. I am totally used to being the only person I know who sits through Empire Records every time it comes on TBS and who thinks it is one of the best movie ever made - after Star Wars and Dirty Dancing and Say Anything and Pretty Woman, of course. Oh, and Tremors and Twister.
I am content to keep the fact that I must watch the Miss American Pageant every single year without fail secret, even though I know it is degrading to women, and not a scholarship fund, considering no one bigger than a size ten ever gets into it.
I mean, I know these things about myself. It is just the way I am, and though I have tried to improve myself by watching award-winning movies such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Gladiator, I don't know, I just don't like them. Everybody dies at the end and besides if there's not dancing or explosions, it is very hard for me to pay attention.
So okay, I'm trying to accept these things about myself. They are just the way I am. Like, I am good at English class and not so good at Algebra. Whatever.
Then she came to realize that she doesn't seem to have a talent, yet she was assigned to this Gift and Talented Class (and afraid that she will be moved to the Domestic Art Class which will lessen her time being together with her senior boyfriend by 5 hours a week). She was like listing her friends talents, and wondering why she was sitting in Gifted and Talented Class and why did Michael even likes her because she was totally talent-less and boring.
And Lilly caught her depression so she confides in her and Lilly said that she actually having a talent. She said to Mia :
Well, if you can't figure it out, I'm not going to tell you. Part of the journey of achieving self-actualization is that you have to reach it on your own, without help or guidance from others. Otherwise, you won't feel as keen a sense of accomplishment.
(From that point on, I forgive Lilly for every annoying things she had ever said)
Why did I like this part, well, first of all because I often feel that I am weird (for my new-found obsession of key chain and paper clips and post its and stickers and maps) because people around me think that it is weird. I don't really enjoy (even the idea of) watching box office movies and my idea of traveling is riding a public city bus around the city, not going to beaches or mountains. I am weird that way, the most important things is, I accepted the way I am.
Another reason is because Lilly's speech was actually asked Mia to not took things for granted (of course she said it in such a round-about way). It's never about being talented or being the best. It is never about what people might have said. Mia needs a little burst of confidence and there, Lilly gave it to her (though it will be hard to accept it in the first time).
I guess re-reading things makes me think rather differently. I don't expect the fourteen years old me get these thought at that time, of course. Apparently the twenty-something old me does, and then, The Princess Diaries Series will never only about Mia Thermopolis being dramatic teenage girl anymore.
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