Royalty

I am currently reading "The Princess Diaries," with a protagonist named Mia. She is a young, flat chested, extremely tall, 10th grader. Her mother and her live together in East Harlem, New York. She has a father, and they are close, but he lives in Genovia. Her mother and father never got married, but they were in love. Every summer Mia Thermopolis joins her father and grandmother in Genovia for a luxury stay in his mansion, where they visit spas. Although Mia noticed many of these signs, as in; mansions, spas, drivers etc. she never thought about what t might mean. In other words she never would have guessed she was a princess until her father told her one day at The Plaza Hotel. Mia was utterly heartbroken by the news, and didnt know how to confront the idea of her being royalty. 

I respect that Mia was completely horrified of the idea of being a princess, but really I'm not sure I understand it. Most girls I know would be completely ecstatic of this news, and wouldn't be able to wait to have their own personal driver. I know I have fantasized about that idea before, but is it because I know it could make life easier, or is it for the thrill? I think that for me it is more of the thrill of being so high up. Mia is a down to earth person; she doesn't want to hurt the environment in any way, and actually has a plan to go help the whales in Iceland after high school. Well at least had that idea until her father yelled at her that she was going to a fancy college in Genovia. Mia and I are two completely different types of people, with two different perspectives on things, but I do feel badly for her. If I didn't want to be a princess I would hate to be forced from the home I had grown up in my whole life into an estranged castle with many servants running around on my single command. I feel badly for what Mia is experiencing, because It also doesn't help that she is completely ashamed of herself. She just discovered she had a hidden identity bigger than the person she was brought up to be. I think that Mia's inner conflict is that she is not comfortable in her skin now , so she doesn't feel like she could be comfortable in another, distant body. 

I think that while I read this book, I want to continue to understand what it is that is really making her resent the idea of being a princess. This book has also opened my eye up to the possibility that princesses may be unhappy where they are. In movies they always make the castle life look so enjoyable, and so full of life. As kids begin to watch these movies sooner or later it becomes what very kid wants or worships. Maybe all the princesses actually want our life as normal kids, out of the paparazzi. Maybe they all aren't as confident as they seem, and really have a lot of internal issues. The rich life may look glorious for a while, but there has to be a turning point. I really want to pay attention to what royalty is really like, and maybe it's not what everyone thinks or sees.