Growing up I was not a big fan of Disney movies. I never really got into some of the ridiculous aspects of waiting for a prince to come. I grew up in the South Bronx and I readily, immediately knew I had to save myself. Well, that is true but I will readily admit that many people helped me to push further and further. I had great interested teachers who took me under their wing. My fifth grade teacher Ms Rizzo was everything. She opened up my eyes to the world. MS Cohen and Mr Rodriguez encouraged me to go to boarding school. And so on. There were no princes but instead there were great people in my life. You can’t ever underestimate the power of a dedicated teacher. But, I have mightily digressed.

Now that I am older, I still am not a huge Disney fan. And, neither is my son. He covers his ears if he gets any whiff of a “Let it go” melody onset. However, Disney has morphed tremendously from my childhood to today. It now was behind the Solo: A Star Wars Story , Coco, and Ralph Breaks the Internet. The latter featured a funny scene regarding the Disney Princess Tropes. Which brings me to this weekend.

We went to LegoLand, which was nothing at all to what my son had expected. Nonetheless, he still managed to spend over two hours in there. As we exited, we were directed out through the souvenir shop. Of course! My son quickly walked through out the door. I, on the other hand, was totally sidetracked by the wands. They are pink and pretty and I totally wanted one.

Of course the irony does not escape me. In that moment I had two thoughts. First, wouldn’t it be nice to finally have a fairy godmother. I already have accomplished much in life through hard work, perseverance, and invested family as well as community members. Now that I have been built myself up, it would be nice to have my pumpkins turned into carriages. At least every once in a while. Second, I thought about how I have tried to serve as a mentor to others and how one must always think of how we pay our good fortunes forward. Many years ago, a colleague and I joked about granting wishes in the workplace. They were funny wishes. We were in New York, after all. But, in all seriousness we should when possible look to see how we can help others achieve their dreams. Maybe Disney was on to something, after all.