Disney Princesses (and how I deal with anxiety)

I have a great passion in life that may be a bit over the top. 

The common thread in all these photos? The sheer joy they gave me.

Seriously. There are at least eight visible things in my "grown-up" bedroom that have a princess on them somewhere. I regularly listen to Disney music at my desk at work and have seen Frozen FOUR TIMES since it hit the theater (granted, two of those times were free. That gets me a little less judgment, right?)

The truth is that, while I liked Disney princesses as a child, they didn't really turn into a "hobby" until I was in high school. 

In college was when I really...well...let it go.

See what I did there?

And even out of college, I can't help but get ridiculously excited almost to the point of straight-up embarrassing every time somebody gives me a princess-related thing. 

Everybody's got little quirks that make them unique, right?
Stuff that makes them weird?
Maybe I've just got a few extra idiosyncrasies because I spent the homeschooled years of my childhood learning how to entertain myself. Maybe I was just born that way.

Here are some other things I love.

Coloring.

Pretending to be Beyonce. Sometimes on stage.

Baba Larve, the Russian alter-ego that comes out when it's time to party.

You never know what ze Baba Larve ees going to do next. Yaga. 


Face-in-a-hole.

Hiking. And pretending to be King of the Woods.

Reading Children's books like these.

I also enjoy knitting, baking, eating chocolate, and watching Downton Abbey.

Like a lot of people, I sometimes struggle with anxiety. It's very easy for worrisome thoughts to plant themselves in my head and grow into full-fledged panic trees.

The best weapon against anxiety? Laughter. Something I'm good at.

When anxiety hits, it can make you feel trapped and helpless. After all, it's inside of you and you can't just pull it out and throw it away. If you let it sit long enough, it can even make you sick.
Sometimes, the best thing to do is remove yourself from the situation (at least for a little while) and make cookies
or belt out Defying Gravity
or do yoga
or ask for a hug
or do the absolute silliest thing you can think of.

But, most importantly, LAUGH.
Laugh a lot.