I Am Literally Elsa

Our youngest, like most girls her age, is obsessed with the movie, Frozen. You can’t even talk about frozen yogurt in our house without someone singing Let it Go! CC is turning 3 this week and recites every line from the movie and has the hand motions to match. If you use the bathroom in this house, she will be there outside the door singing about building a snowman.

“Mom, I’m literally Elsa!”

“Mom, I’m literally Elsa,” says my almost 3 year old as she comes down the stairs in a blue sparkle dress and fisher price heels. Other than making a mental note to explain the meaning of the word ‘literally’, I sat back and thought that I know exactly what my little girl was feeling.

I am also Literally Elsa!

Now hear me out... I believe that all Disney movies touch different people based on their current journey. But Elsa‘s journey has felt similar to mine for years now and became even more parallel in Frozen 2. (SPOILERS AHEAD) In the original movie, Elsa was separated from her loved ones and told to lie about who she was and what gift she had. Her father was convinced that she would be feared or outcast. The real pain was the loneliness she felt when she had no shoulders to cry on.

I feel you, Elsa. For 10 years I was in a similar “Kingdom of isolation”. As a victim of assault, until the #metoo movement a few years ago, we didn’t have the platform to talk about what happened to us. My close family knew. But it was never talked about. And we all pretended like it wasn’t there, which only made me feel like I wasn’t ALLOWED to bring it up. Or maybe like everyone forgot.

Then I went public with my story. And it brought an amazing amount of healing to myself and my husband. And just like the end of the movie, you know everything will work out and everyone will continue to be happy... forever...

But in the sequel, Elsa finds that she’s not happy with a normal life in the castle after her adventure. She is called for more, even though she doesn’t know what that entails. She wants to find happiness within the walls of this castle, with everyone she loves. But she knows she is called to be BOLD!

I don‘t always know what I’m doing and I don’t know where I’ll end up. But I know I’m called for something... something great.

I hear you, Elsa and I, too, find myself called

Into the Unknown!