**Image credit: [Source]
I have a ritual when a new movie sequel is coming.
I go back and binge-watch the old ones first - Marvel, X-Men, Avengers… I like remembering the details, reconnecting with the characters, and pretending I have not already memorised half the dialogue.
But The Devil Wears Prada is different.
This is the first movie where I realised I do not need a refresher because I already know every scene. Every look. Every “That’s all.”
I thought I was watching a movie about fashion.
Turns out, I was being handed a life lesson in really good coats.
People remember the glamour - the Runway office, Paris, the Chanel boots, Miranda Priestly’s stare powerful enough to reorganise your entire personality.
But what stayed with me was Andy.
The slow way ambition can change you.
How easy it is to call self-betrayal “growth.”
How success can look shiny from the outside while quietly costing you yourself.
She did not lose herself all at once.
It happened in little pieces.
A missed dinner.
A broken promise.
Becoming excellent at things she never wanted to value.
That lesson stayed with me.
Sometimes the real danger is not failure.
It is succeeding at something that is pulling you away from who you are.
I love ambition.
I respect hard work.
I admire excellence.
But I have learned that not every open door is meant to be walked through, especially if it asks you to leave yourself outside.
Also, let us be honest - Miranda Priestly terrified me and inspired me at the same time.
That, too, felt like a life lesson.