It is rare in life that you come across a piece of art that is so impactful that it changes the way you view the world. For some people it’s a certain book or documentary that is intricately complex and insightful. Something that opens your eyes to an entirely new perspective.
For me, it’s Frozen II.
I know, I know, it sounds silly or naive. But I’m serious!
I first stumbled upon Frozen II in my senior year of high school when it was randomly playing on my living room TV.
Right off the bat, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. It felt as if I had escaped into my own world for an hour and a half. As the ending credits rolled on the screen, there I sat in a La-Z-Boy recliner with splotchy cheeks and hot tears streaming down my face.
Out of everything that could have happened on that random week night, a deep emotional catharsis triggered by a movie made for children was not what I was expecting.
Even after eating dinner that night and getting ready to go to bed, I found myself going on YouTube to look up the songs. I was obsessed.
*SPOILER ALERT* I will be talking about themes and events that happen in Frozen II. If you haven’t seen it yet (WHAT?! Go watch it right now) take this as your warning not to read on!
The song “The Next Right Thing” is the one part of the movie that truly changed my world.
Although the whole movie is about finding your calling and self-acceptance, this song is brutally realistic about the pitfalls and depressions of life.
In the movie, Anna believes that almost everyone she loves has died. Stuck in a cave far away, she is dealing with grief and finding the motivation to keep going.
Pretty heavy stuff for a children’s movie, huh?
“You are lost. Hope is gone. But you must go on and do the next right thing”
– “The Next Right Thing,” Frozen II
This lyric hit me hard. Especially throughout this pandemic (not to bring up bad times), there were moments that it felt like there was no hope left to have. The themes presented in this movie might seem rudimentary, but this song caused an epiphany in my life. All we can do is choose to keep going. Choose to survive in the best way we know how. Choose the next right thing.
“Take a step, step again, it is all that I can to do the next right thing”
– “The Next Right Thing,” Frozen II
This line is beautiful in its simplicity. The feeling of being lost with no direction can inundate you. Especially not knowing my future towards the end of my senior year, I felt placed in an odd limbo. I had not yet graduated, but after a year like 2020, I didn’t quite know what it meant to be a “high schooler” anymore, or even a student in general. My problems felt so large which, in turn, made me feel the smallest I have ever felt.
Anna is crushed with sadness; her whole world was taken from her. And yet the only thing her character knew she could do was stand up and keep moving. It is inspiring, to say the least.
“And with the dawn what comes then? When it’s clear that everything will never be the same again. Then I’ll make the choice, to hear that voice, and do the next right thing.”
– “The Next Right Thing,” Frozen II
This is the climax of the song as it comes to a close. Looking at this through the lens of my own experiences and the globally shared experience, it is so profound.
We all grieved in some way throughout 2020. Whether that be grieving a family member, grieving the time lost, or longing for the way things used to be, those feelings are real, and I experienced all three simultaneously.
The only thing certain about this world is that nothing will ever stay the same. This truth is uncomfortable, but it is something that I, personally, need to accept.
In most circumstances, we cannot control the bad things that happen to us in life. The only thing we can control is our reaction to these hardships. I grieve for lots of things that happened this past year and a half. Loved ones. The loss of the “high school experience.” Friendships. A sense of normalcy.
Despite this, the world stops for no one. Every day the sun rises and sets, and we must learn to do the same.
It may sound frivolous to some, but Frozen II made me see these truths. It is easy to throw a pity party and sit with your negativity. It is much harder to do the next right thing.
If I wake up stressed or overwhelmed about school, all I know is to do the next right thing. That is, get out of bed, then brush my teeth, then get dressed, and so on. Controlling what I can in my life.
This is easier said than done, and sometimes it can seem impossible.
But like Anna, I take it one step at a time.
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