I learned quite a bit from the land of Oz

By Kellie Singleton

I used to watch “The Wizard of Oz” when I was younger?

I was scared of “the twister,” the Wicked Witch of the West, and the flying monkeys. But I marveled at more things in this movie than I shied away from.

I marveled at the Land of Oz: the brilliant color, the little munchkins, their funny clothes and hairstyles, Glenda the Good Witch, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, Toto, the Emerald City, the Horse of a Different Color, and the Yellow Brick Road that led them everywhere they went?

When I was younger, I took the story for what it was: a fun, entertaining story that I truly enjoyed depicting a fantasy land that Dorothy escaped to before realizing that home wasn’t so bad after all.

But even now that I’m “grown,” I watch “The Wizard of Oz“ from time to time. And while I still enjoy the simplicity of the horse that changes color and the funny clothes worn by the munchkins, the movie has taken on a different meaning for me?

When Dorothy is still in Kansas, she strolls across her aunt and uncle’s farm and sings a little song called “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” while her trusty, four-legged companion, Toto, looks on, Dorothy sings about a place that is completely different from the drab, black-and-white, mundane, ho-hum place that she was currently residing in. Somewhere that she could fly with the bluebirds, and have her troubles melt away like lemon drops. Oh to have a place like this…

When the twister comes and Dorothy wakes up in Oz, she ends up on the Yellow Brick Road. On her journey down this road she has her dreams realized; she meets interesting characters that become her friends; she discovers things about herself that she didn’t know before; she has exciting adventures; and she learns the value of what she already had back home in Kansas?

Even though we realize at the end of the movie that Dorothy’s journey down the Yellow Brick Road in Oz was just a fantastical dream, Dorothy was still affected by it. She was still moved and molded by the things that happened in Oz?

Her journey down the Yellow Brick Road was, in my opinion, a symbol for the journey of life: you meet people who change you and shape you; you face enemies and adversities that either break you down or make you stronger; you learn about different aspects of your character through the different situations you face; you yearn for things you do not have, but hopefully realize the value of the things you have been given; and if you’re lucky, you’ll have your dreams realized, too.