For the Love of U

I love Ursula, the sea witch from Disney's The Little Mermaid. I totally heart her. She's badass, a little crass, witty, determined, persistent, go-getting, devoted to her cause, opportunistic, comfortable with her body and, in that, she's sexy, confident, wise, powerful, dominant, and a whole host of negative words (the likes of which you can find here). But only a few of those words outline why I love her: comfortable, confident, and determined, very determined.

I was very uncomfortable with myself (at the top of 2008, I weighed 271lbs) until I made my 2nd Biggest Loser audition tape, on which I talked about my love of Ursula, using the aforementioned adjectives. Now, I always knew that her song, Poor Unfortunate Souls, was my favorite (right next to Kiss de Girl) but I never actually thought about why. I chalked it up to my love of villains and, come to think of it, they're all pretty much badass-- Scar, Jafar, etc. But Ursula's the only big girl in the bunch. Finally, I saw someone like me on the screen who wasn't for laughs unlike Nell Carter (still liked watching Gimme a Break). This woman had a purpose other than tickling an audience's funny bone and she was almost as important (if not as important) as Ariel, the protagonist. Ursula was not an afterthought. She was part of the main event. And I liked that. I REALLY liked that. Still do.


So after I talked about her, I became a little obsessed. A student bought me an Ursula mug from Disney World because I talked about her so much (doesn't hurt that Ursula is purple, one of my favorite colors *purple, green, and black*). Another student brought me a stuffed Ursula doll. I loved it so much, I took it to Europe with me (I would have posted a picture if my external hard drive didn't break-- might be able to find one on my PC, though) and lost her in Rome after we viewed the Vatican & the Sistine Chapel together. I miss my little buddy. My friend (funny, the number of ex-students I have that I count as friends)  made me an Ursula shirt for another Biggest Loser audition with the word Ursula on the back and the shell necklace right beneath it. My current students are making customized class shirts and I bought one. They're putting something similar to the other shirt on the back of that one.

Yeah, I'm a little Ursula crazy. And I'm super jealous that Queen Latifah got to be immortalized posing as the ultimate badass.

I can only wish I could exude as much sex appeal, power, and confidence as her. There's definitely no self-esteem issue there. She would not let her shoulders droop from a little, well, a lotta trouble. She would not spend evenings crying over things she could not change. She wouldn't beg for signs, direction, ANYTHING to tell her what to do next. No, she'd just find another way to tackle the problem, to get what she wants.

I could really use a little Ursula these days.

QoMV

Below, you'll find my own little rendition of Poor Unfortunate Souls. I was having a little fun with my first Macbook. Ah, those were the days. Enjoy! =)

See how being Ursula just makes you want to ooze sexy and confident out through your pores? I would really love to be her for Halloween but I don't think I would wear all that make-up that this chick has on (I sweat profusely when I'm hot and, in Miami, I'm guaranteed to be hot).

http://www.cosplay.com/photo/1411710/