I love Musicals! I’ve been in many choirs throughout my childhood and even my early 20s. Combine music, a great story, Disney and I will watch it as a 30 something year old adult with no ounce of guilt or embarrassment. Without giving away too many spoilers on the actual movie, here are a few lessons that I picked up on while watching.

The soundtrack is beautifully crafted. My social media timeline has been filled with the “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” song but the song  “Surface Pressure” about the growing pressure of being the strong one in the family who handles everyone’s burdens and how heavy that load can be had a deeper and more familiar message for me. If you’re anything like me, family members young and old will spill their woes to you and when their shoulders are needed, often you’re told you’ll be fine because you’re the strong one.  What I took from the movie and from life’s lessons, sometimes you have to allow family and even friends the necessary room to carry their own weight because carrying your own and theirs isn’t your responsibility.

Mirabel is a 15 year old young lady who wants to help her family. She doesn’t have or know her power. The message I got from Mirabel’s story is delayed but not denied. Often we may not get something we’ve wanted and feel like we are missing out on our blessings while everyone else is reaping theirs. We may search for ways to make our wishes  come true and still not get them by our own deadlines. When we learn to stop forcing,  put in the proper work, and believe that we are of value do we see our dreams unfold. 

The family weirdo isn’t always weird. Sometimes they know things about the family that people don’t want to discuss. They hold secrets. Enter Bruno. Bruno knew much about the family and yeah “we don’t talk about Bruno no no no!”. Maybe they should have talked to Bruno. Things left unsaid, conversations left unspoken can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings. Getting things out in the open and being forthright instead of sweeping things under the rug may help more families than hinder them.

The gift of second chances. Sometimes we fall and get comfortable after being down for so long.  Everyday is a new opportunity to get things right, better, and to learn from yesterday. We all have the power within ourselves to become the best version of ourselves. We can rebuild ourselves anytime we feel a crack within our own foundation. Perfection isn’t real and it shouldn’t be a standard we put on ourselves.