10 Things I Learned About Life From Disney’s ‘Frozen’

1. Expecting love at first sight is unrealistic

Love is an intense feeling of affection (according to the dictionary) and to believe that you could feel this for somebody you just laid eyes on is a little foolish. Anna was lonely and so desperate for love that she believed she and Hans would ride off together into the sunset after only just meeting and singing an awesome duet together. Real life doesn’t quite seem to work out as nicely as Disney movies and initial attraction can sometimes wane when you spend time with a person and realize what they’re really like.

2. Sometimes your dashing prince will turn out to be a huge jerk

Just because he’s charming and good-looking doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of some seriously evil things (like killing your sister and stealing the throne). This applies to women as well. Everything can be rainbows and unicorns during the honeymoon period, but when things don’t work out and you send him or her packing, you better lock the door and hide your stuff.

3. Animals make better companions than humans most of the time

People can be terrible sometimes. They can be incredibly selfish and not give a damn about you. It’s human nature. Animals on the other hand, make much better companions. Their loyalties don’t waver depending on their moods and their human counterparts are like family to them. Some animals (i.e. dogs) can sense when you’re upset, and instead of asking you to go cry somewhere else, will comfort you and expect nothing in return.

4. Communication is key

I am a firm believer that Anna totally could have handled the fact that her sister had magical ice powers as a child. The fact that everybody shut her out when she was growing up really only made things worse. It led to her sister refusing to speak to her or even see her, even after their parents died, which caused some serious misunderstanding. Is letting someone believe you’re mean and stuck up really better than just explaining to them what was going on? Even the troll told Elsa (after he had erased some of Anna’s memories), that fear would be her enemy and she needed to learn to control it. She obviously didn’t do a very good job of it on her own, which leads us to lesson number 5.

5. You’re never alone

There are people who want constantly want to help you, all you have to do is ask. You have loved ones who can help you through tough times, or you know, call the suicide hotline, depression hotline, customer services of Best Buy if you need someone to talk to.

6. “Conceal, don’t feel” is terrible advice

I have a friend who struggles with anxiety and every day, and she told me that Elsa’s problems are similar to her own. Keeping things bottled up is never a good idea. She likened the whole situation to a huge dam that pretty much explodes when there’s too much pressure behind it. That doesn’t sound pleasant at all.

7. People fear what they don’t understand

I’ve seen this exemplified in more than one movie. The most memorable one is “Cool Runnings” (that last scene where they carry their bobsled over the finish line? Gets me every time). The full quote, by Andrew Smith, is “People fear what they don’t understand and hate what they can’t conquer.” Makes a lot of sense when you consider that old guy from Weaseltown who kept going after Elsa and calling her a witch.

8.  Most people are more than they appear to be

Everybody has secrets. Elsa had her magical ice powers, Kristoff’s closest friends are actually trolls who can disguise themselves as rocks, and Prince Hans is actually a villain in disguise. Just remember all that the next time you want to judge somebody on first impressions.

9. Be open to love

When you put up walls, the only person you’re really hurting is yourself. Shutting people out when they’re so eager to help you doesn’t benefit either of you. This kind of goes along with numbers 5 and 6.

10. Some people will do anything for power

There are good people, bad people, and then ambitious people. They don’t quite fall into either category because they aren’t one or the other. They’re squatting in that gray area where they do what’s best for them at the time which may or may not hurt others around them.