More than Just a Fairy Tale

Fairy tales are short stories that have existed for centuries and include elements of magic or mystical creatures; they are typically popular among children and often have a moral or lesson. These stories have been passed down from generation to generation.  As a child my father would put my sister and I to sleep by reading us these magical stories. The dim light all around as he would read to us and the silence that was filled with his voice had always brought a comfort like no other. One fairy tale that stayed with me was the fairy tale of Snow White; it impacted how I would see the world and the people in it. 

Snow White is about a princess living in a castle with her jealous stepmother. She was in fact so jealous that she ordered the murder of Snow White. As a result, she is forced to leave her home and live in hiding as she was in great danger. The stepmother disguises herself as a hag and gives a poisoned apple to Snow White. This leads to Snow White falling into a sleep where only the kiss of a prince could wake her. This fairy tale’s plot has made it into an extremely popular movie for Disney and a popular book; it reached me and severely impacted me through a book. My dad has always been a very hard worker and someone who has provided more than enough for his family. As a little girl and even as we were struggling financially, he always came home with cases of old books and short stories for children that were given to him. The crisp smell of the old pages and the mystery that they brought fascinated me. I’d sit down on my couch in the living room and go over every single book or short story. Snow White’s story, however, inspired me like no other. 

The moral and lesson that I got through Snow White was about resilience. Snow White survived many murder attempts and was still able to adapt to her situation where she made friends with the dwarfs in addition to remaining kind throughout the whole plot. How does this relate to me? It emphasized that I can face any obstacle put in my way through staying resilient and inspired me by reminding me of my parents. This had a significant impact on me because I am reminded of how difficult it was seeing my parents fight for our family. My parents are immigrants from Mexico and they struggled here with the language and environment; they sacrificed much of themselves in order to give my sisters and me a better life all the while encouraging us to be eager for more. In addition, they always encouraged us not to back down from a challenge. Hearing the stories that they would tell us of their childhood and everything they had to overcome in order to be here in this country has dug deep into me. Snow White’s kindness also made me want to be the same way and have empathy for others no matter what. 

Reading more opened up my imagination but it also made me question things and elements included in books that might not have made much sense to me. Why did characters act a certain way? Why did the author choose this? This encouraged me to want to make my own stories that would make sense to me.  I would fold up paper to make it look like a book and just write in it about anything that I wanted to express or was interested in. The first story and book I wrote about was about bullying in school. I had seen how hurtful bullying could be and the consequences that could come from it. I wanted to emphasize the importance of kindness and how it costs nothing. This very first book also got posted on my school’s bulletin board. This special moment made me also realize I had a voice worth sharing that only motivated me further in my academics as it made me passionate. I started to excel more in reading and english and it became my favorite subject. As I grew up so did my love for reading and writing as my father also never stopped bringing home books. Throughout high school my love for reading never stopped or changed which further helped and carried me through my IB English courses as I mostly excelled. 

Overall, reading books and writing is not just a way to learn but a way to understand the world and others. I was able to find strength and grow into someone who is always looking to grow and learn. As I keep growing in life I will keep these lessons with me and Snow White will always have a special place in my heart.