The Little Mermaid Obsession

Anyone who knows me personally knows about my “Ariel obsession”. It started before I was even a teenager and I was “moving out” of sharing a room with my little brother and getting my own room. Even then I was pretty crafty and creative. People see while walls – I SEE BIG CANVASES for decorating 🙂 So I thought and about it and I wanted to make my room a THEME. I had some of my old toys left, including an Ariel doll and a case. I decided to make my room into an “under the ocean” / “Little Mermaid” theme. I was 12 then, and I still have those toys to this day!

That’s how it all started… and it never ended. The Little Mermaid Obsession. I went through high school and everyone knew it. Even my teachers. I knew people laughed behind my back, but I didn’t care. It was me – my character. I wasn’t obsessing over N*SYNC or Dawson’s Creek like everyone else, I was doing my own thing. When I turned 16 and I entered my high school’s art program and began learning more about painting and drawing. I decided I wanted to paint scenes from The Little Mermaid movie on my walls. The biggest problem was convincing my mom to let me. It took me a few years but I made it happen… And 10 years (almost 11) years later it still sits in my old room at my mother’s house.

Back then it felt like “oh this will fade, the movie came out in 1989, the 90s will take over and it will be forgotten”. Because in the beginning it was hard to find Ariel-related things. I had to check certain stores every-so-often, and most of all The Disney Store. But today that isn’t the case. It has blown up and now all these kids who weren’t even alive when those movies came out (Sleeping beauty, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, etc) are loving them as if they came out last week. I think it’s awesome.

Originally I was going to make a photo-blog of my “Ariel stuff” and in a way I have. I started an instagram, which also updates the tumblr I created: arielfreak.com. It’s pretty simple, because I can update it with my phone. 🙂 You can also follow my account @arielfreaks on instagram. If you are a big fan yourself please send me any photos of “Ariel stuff” you have or mind come across. I’m always interested to see what others have!