Tangled And The Internal Struggles Of Following Your Dream

Tangled is a great movie, not because it touches us in a deep way, but it shows how the human heart can both push us to something greater, but also keep us stagnate at the same time.

Here is the starting plot of the movie that sets everything off. Taken from Wikipedia:

"A drop of sunlight falls to the ground and grows into a magical flower, with the power to heal the sick and injured. An old woman named Gothel finds it and uses it to keep herself young by singing an incantation. Centuries later, a kingdom has developed, ruled by a king and queen. The Queen becomes ill during pregnancy, and the couple's loving subjects search for the legendary flower. The queen is eventually fed the flower, is healed, and gives birth to a daughter, whom they name Rapunzel. Rapunzel's golden hair, it is found, has absorbed the magical abilities of the flower. Gothel discovers this and tries to steal a lock of Rapunzel's hair. However, she finds that, once cut, the hair turns its normal brown and loses its power. So she kidnaps Rapunzel and hides her in a tower, saving the powers of the magic flower for herself, and raising her as her own child. Every year, on Rapunzel's birthday, her parents and their subjects release thousands of sky lanterns, in the hope that the lost princess will return. Rapunzel has seen these over the years from her high tower. Nearing her 18th birthday, she asks Gothel to take her outside to see the source of the annual floating lights as her present, but Gothel refuses."

I couldn't help but to notice the friction between Rapunzel's and Gothel's goals, and that of the human heart. How many times did we dream about doing something, big or small, only to meet an inner being, or a Gothel, telling us other wise.

Gothel is my favorite character believe it or not lol

 In the movie, Gothel is quite manipulative, and she undermind's Rapunzel's wishes and fills her head that the outside world is a horrible place. She tells Rapunzel that she couldn't possibly defend herself from its evils, that she was immature, naive and "vague". This was Gothel's way to keep Rapunzel from going into the outside world, to keep her "safe" in the tower, only to wonder "what if?". 

I can tell you now, I feel like I've always had an inner Gothel, telling me that it's safe to be where I am, even if I'm hungry to advance and strive for my dreams. Those "negative voices" that people talk about all the time, it's the same concept. People from all walks of life, from all backgrounds will face those feelings, obstacles, and hurdles.

What made Rapuzel so great was that despite her own fears of not only upsetting her mother, but "facing the world", she decides to put it all on the line to go for her dream! How many people you know have been so bold to do that? To have this incredible dream, vision and concept that they want to make a reality and said "The hell with the world!" and do it? Even for those of us that have taken the unbeaten path, it can be hard to change along the way and get better, because in the back of our minds those voices are still calling us home, back to the tower where it's safe. 

It was the same for Rapunzel, even when she felt grass under her feet, ran in the fields, and felt the freedom of being alive for the first time, she was conflicted greatly, and always thought about the tower. She thought how horrible of a daughter she was and how her actions would upset her mother enormously, so much so that Rapunzel was in tears. It's never easy to seemingly give up on everything you know for a simple dream.

The awards for striving for your dream is always great, but it's never an "easy" road. You don't just make your dreams come true, you are deciding that no matter what, you'll see your dream through for everything it's worth. Even when people say (me included) "life can be easy if you do/think/behave differently" it's never really that simple. Life is an open road, not a linear tunnel. What you decide to put in will result of what you'll get out. You can be positive all you want, but you'll still need the strength and courage to overcome everything that will be thrown at you. If you're sitting in your tower, waiting for your dream to smack you in the face, you will need Rapunzel's magic hair to keep you alive for all the time you'll be waiting. 

 That doesn't mean you have to work yourself to the grave for your dream, but I will never suggest that you sit in a tower and wait for it to happen either. When you feel it, that passion, that goal, that connection between you and the world around you, you'll know that you're more then ready to not only make your dream come true, but to finally know what to do to get there (at least the first step). Even if you're scared, afraid or alone, it will be that inner passion that will override the fear and make you "do something" that you'll never thought you would. 

That is what Rapunzel did, and she was faced with many challenges and even sacrifices, but she became a person that she never thought she could be. She become smarter, wiser and so much more vibrant because she moved mountains for this one dream she had since she was a little girl. That is what life is about, striving for something that is bigger then yourself, even when the whole world is against you. It's never the easiest road, but it's always the more exciting and awarding one! 

 Are you excited yet? Go out there and start going after your dreams!

Pictures and gifs are from colliner and Tumblr , and edited by me (the top banner picture)