I was honoured to be invited backstage at Whitley Bay Operatic Society’s Legally Blonde: The Musical at Whitley Bay Playhouse last week. My blog post on the show, Q&As with the cast, and behind-the-scenes photos, was such a success that I’ve now been invited to preview their upcoming show in October (2019). So, I thought it only fair to write another post inspired by their incredible adaption of Legally Blonde!
1. SUPPORTIVE FRIENDS ARE A NECESSITY
In Legally Blonde, Elle Woods is in a sorority and you get to see the bond between all of the ‘Sisters’ who are so excited for her when it seems as though her boyfriend (Warner) is going to propose. Feeling pleased for another friend’s success is so meaningful in a world filled with spiteful jealousy – especially in the blogging industry. Having fellow blogger, Marty (from gumonmyshoe.com) as a best-friend has really taught me a few things about supporting one another rather than viewing each other as competition. My two other best-friends; Lauren and Ellie, are the kind of friends who are always there in your most desperate moments. It’s been hard having each of us – inevitably – drift apart to live our very different lives but it’s also strengthened our relationship to have been able to see that regardless of the distance (literal and otherwise) we’re still there for one another and it doesn’t matter how much ‘effort’ it now takes to do that.
I’ve barely begun
I’m hardly through
I was living in ignorant bliss
‘Til I learned I could be more than this
Find My Way - Legally Blonde
2. SUCCESS FEELS SO MUCH BETTER WHEN
YOU’VE WORKED HARD FOR IT
In Legally Blonde, when Elle Woods puts her mind to something, she works her butt off – including getting into Harvard Law School from a Fashion Merchandising degree! I’ve talked a lot before about how there are Bloggers out there who expect opportunities to be handed to them on a plate. Sometimes it’s that they’re misinformed and assume - from Blogger’s social media profiles - that press trips and gifted products come naturally as soon as you declare that you’re a Blogger. I was talking with someone recently about a particular Blogger who seems to have ‘made her millions’ and then disappeared from the media and this person said that she probably would’ve done the same; earned enough money that she could just live off of it and not have to work another day in her life. I said I’d do the opposite; I’d want to always be bettering myself and my work and always be aiming to achieve more. People talk about how good I am at writing even though I’ve had no training – unless you count English lessons at School – but that doesn’t mean it comes easy. I put a lot of effort and hard work into my blog posts in coming up with ideas for new content and using them as inspiration for my writing. The opportunities I’ve been awarded – from media appearances to working with Whitley Bay Operatic Society(!) – have come as a result of some very late nights, early mornings, a lot of travelling, millions of emails, and a ton of tweets! Hard work, in other words.
There’s still so much to learn
So many dreams to earn
But even if I crash and burn ten times a day
I think I’m here to stay
I’m gonna find my way
Find My Way - Legally Blonde
3. YOU CAN PROVE THEM ALL
WRONG
So many people in her life doubt Elle’s capabilities and potential; they say she can’t get into Harvard and she does. They say she won’t do well at Harvard, and she does. They say she can’t win the court case, and she does! I think that the biggest challenge I’ve faced was having professionals say that they literally didn’t believe I would make it to my next Birthday (every year from ages 18 to 22). And for a few years, I didn’t either. But I found hope and I proved them wrong. Something else that takes a lot of work; hard work. If proving people wrong were easy, then it wouldn’t feel so good!
And you know
In a way I owe it all to you
I thought losing your love was a blow I could never withstand
Look how far I’ve come
Without anyone holding my handFind My Way - Legally Blonde
4. LOVE SHOULDN’T BE HARD WORK
In Legally Blonde, Elle Woods goes from being almost certain her boyfriend is going to propose to her, to desperately trying to win him back from a girl who is everything he said she wasn’t. When Elle is herself and enjoys everything she’s worked for, love finds its way back into her life, naturally and easily with ‘Emmett.’ I guess that this is one of those lessons that has to be learned the hard way. The way that leads to the most heartache. I think that it’s difficult to accept that love isn’t perfect, but that doesn’t mean it should be hard work to maintain. Like in Legally Blonde, you shouldn’t be working your ass off to ‘keep’ your partner. You shouldn’t be having to do go out of your way to prevent the end of the relationship. You have to ask yourself, if that much work is necessary; is the relationship worth it?
5. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF
In Legally Blonde, Elle thinks she has to change herself to get her ex-boyfriend back but actually, if she just allows herself to be her own self – to have her own thoughts and feelings and do what she wants to do – then she’ll enjoy life so much more and be able to make the most of it. I only feel like I’ve been true to myself since I’m NOT Disordered began six years ago because before that, I was always keeping one side of myself a secret. Ages 16-18 it was the abuse. Ages 18 – 22 it was my mental health. And I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that my greatest accomplishments have come since I’ve been able to be honest to myself!
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