once upon a dream, the most beautiful princess fell asleep on the job.

Can you really blame her for pressing snooze on trying to be empowering? She didn’t even know she was a princess for sixteen years, and she only knew like four other people. And one was a dragon that cursed her.

Sleeping Beauty has long been one of my all time favorite movies. Her story involved so many different elements and magic that I just adored. The three fairies bring me pure joy, Phillip is my actual dream boy, and Maleficent is the ultimate villain. As a fairy tale, it’s as golden as Rose’s flawless hair.

But the truth of the matter is, Aurora is difficult to analyze because she literally only has 18 lines the whole film. There is nothing strikingly tragic about her, but she is much more dream than nightmare.

It’s hard to call her a feminist icon without knowing her better than we do.

The only glimpse into who Aurora is happens when she strolls through the forrest with her animal friends. She greets her world with a sense of wonder and an appreciation for everything. Her world is so limited with the fairies that she is forced into a lonely life. She sees all the pairs of animals around her and naturally longs for a companion of her own. When she sings about the prince she dreamed up, I felt that.

Aurora proves that femininity is not weakness. Being soft and kind and quiet does not mean you are not capable and strong. Aurora treats everyone well, maintains a sense of wonder in her limited world, and longs for meaningful relationships. Nothing about her is overwhelmingly bold, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t still strong or admirable.

I find myself admiring the graceful way she carries herself. She isn’t actively seeking to influence anyone because she literally only knows birds and fairies, but she does have influence regardless. It’s one of grace and kindness and wonder and softness and quiet, powerful femininity.

Briar Rose promotes an image of grace I’d love to live up to while approaching the world with a softness and wonder I wish to embody.

Is she the best representation of strong women Disney has created? No, of course not. How could she be with so little screen time? But is it tragic to look up to her? Not at all. Aurora represents how treating people well empowers them to fight for you.

We create stronger kingdoms through kindness, and also naps.

She really knows how to run a castle. I can only imagine the icon she would be if we saw her as the queen she was destined to be.

Aurora was forced into her slumber, but don’t let that happen to you. If you have a dream, go get it. Don’t sleep on it. Don’t wait until you have to face a dragon, and don’t make someone else fight it for you. But also make sure you’ve stacked your team full of people willing to fight for and with you; you shouldn’t have to slay all your dragons alone. Even the fairies helped Phillip.

Be actively pursuing your own happiness, and always choose to make it pink.