When You Wish Upon a Star – My Journey to “becoming” a Disney Princess

As a girl (and let’s be honest, as an adult), I wanted to be a Disney princess. Like any good 90’s child, I grew up on Disney movies, Disney channel, and (as an Anaheim native) going to Disneyland as often as possible. 

To give you a little context, I was never the prettiest girl in the school, nor the most popular. I was a tomboy who never wanted to wear the fancy dresses, and would rather spend my recess reading books than playing handball.  And yet, something about being a princess enthralled me – the dresses, the large house, the handsome prince were all nice, but the ability to make a difference in the world was perhaps what I gravitated to the most. 

I identified most with Belle – she was smart, stood up for what she believed in, and loved a good book. Though yellow was never my favorite color (I’d much rather wear the Beast’s blue jacket), I wanted to be that strong woman who could make a difference and people looked up to. 

Two things happened recently that made me realize I might actually be closer to my childhood dreams than I realized.

1. It should come as no surprise to you if you’ve made it this far, that I love all things Disney. So much so, in fact, that in the clinic, it’s not uncommon for me to be humming a Disney song under my breath. A few days ago, I may have been “building a snowman” a little too loudly (if you catch my drift – ha), and one of my colleagues gave me a new nickname – Disney Plus. It stuck.

2. While visiting family over Thanksgiving, my 5 year old cousin told me she wanted to be just like me when she grew up; she wanted to help animals. She wanted to be a “Federal Alien” (I’d like to be one of those too, actually), which is her way of saying veterinarian. Another friend of mine has a daughter who also says she wants to be just like me when she grows up. These little girls look up to me and think that what I’m doing is the coolest thing in the world (or the galaxy if I’m truly an alien). 

And that’s when it hit me, I might not have the fancy ball gown or a “tale as old as time” (I’m still working on my theme song), but in the eyes of these young girls, I am already a Disney princess – the person they look up to and want to be like. I am a person who, at least in their minds, is making a difference in the world. In fact, I’m sure every veterinarian knows a child, middle schooler, teenager, vet student, that sees what we’re doing and wants to be just like us. 

“But in the eyes of these young girls, I am already a Disney princess – the person they look up to and want to be like.”

My passion has always been helping people achieve their dreams. I have always been a big believer that Walt Disney said it best, “If you can dream it, you can do it” and maintained that philosophy as I advised and mentored pre-veterinary students get into and graduate from vet school for over 10 years. I lost that vision of helping others achieve their dreams while I was on my own journey to do something exciting, so I could have a story to tell, without realizing the story had been close to home this entire time. Every day, what I do (and what all veterinarians do) inspires and motivates people. My cousin and some really cool aliens helped me realize that. 

It took me a long time to figure out what my story, my brand, my uniqueness was in veterinary medicine, but thanks to these seemingly small occurrences, “there may be something there that wasn’t there before,” sharing my love of Disney, making difficult topics more relatable with stories we all know and love, and adding a bit of humor along the way. 

I’m still finding my own way in this profession, but the young girls I talk to don’t know that. They see the princess – the hero – who saves animals and conquers the world one day at a time. I want to invite you to “be my guest” as I share this journey in veterinary medicine with a touch of Disney magic to light the way.