I recently re-watched the movie The Princess Diaries on Disney +. In the beginning of the movie, fifteen-year-old Mia Thermopolis is just like any other high school student, preparing arguments for debate club and playing baseball in gym class. She is mostly unseen by her peers, but that’s okay with her because she’s content hanging out with her close friends. 

Out of the blue, Mia’s grandmother visits her and tells Mia that she is the queen of the European country Genovia, which means that Mia is a princess. She trades her thick, frizzy hair and glasses for pretty hair and princess clothes. Mia is finally seen.

But being seen is not all it’s cracked up to be. Mia’s new “friends” just use her to get a few minutes of fame on TV, and she realizes that her real friends were the ones who had seen her and loved her the whole time, even before she became a princess.

Mia’s story somewhat reminds me of the story of another woman – Hagar.