Disney Magic

This past January marks seven years since I first ventured to Florida to call it my 'home' for the Walt Disney World College Program. There are some things in your life you're just downright certain about. When I saw the flier for the Disney College Program on my college campus I just knew, this was for me. My mind was made up that I was going to Disney and secretly I think my heart hoped, I would stay there forever.

As I drove to the Philadelphia train station late at night to pick up my brother one snowy evening, car packed to the brim - thanks to my dad's amazing packing skills, I was rearing to go. My brother was to accompany me and help with the 17-hour drive but he slept through the night in the passenger seat and I drove a good twelve hours straight. I couldn't wait to get there and start my new life.

The College Program was everything I expected and more. Magic, wonder, new friends, romance, warm weather, a creative job, all set in a beautiful backdrop - Lake Buena Vista, Florida. My job at Disney pushed me out of my comfort zone. All day long I was talking with and helping guests. I worked long 12-hr shifts many days, sometimes six days a week. I had a role that required I speak in front of large audiences...and act at the same time. It really was (cliche) a dream come true.

And what did we do when we weren't working? We played in the parks and all over property - for free. We didn't have far to go to experience all the entertainment our hearts could desire. We partied the nights away at Downtown Disney's Pleasure Island (sadly no longer there) and we ended each day with spectacular firework displays. This went on for a whole eight months and if we ever became disenchanted, we'd venture off to Tampa, Cocoa Beach, Miami, Key West or any of the other nearby destinations we had at our fingertips.

Now I can't lie and say there weren't days when guests would drive you up the wall and your feet were sore and you just stood outside in a thunderstorm and you were incredibly homesick for your friends and family or anything familiar but overall, this was an experience of a lifetime and I'm truly grateful for having had the chance to have lived it.

After it was over it was time to go back to the 'real world'. That was hard. It was like coming off a drug high. You weren't prepared for how much longing you'd be left with, for how much you'd desire that 'Disney fix', so you'd resort to online message boards where other alumni could share about their experiences, you'd plan reunions with your roommates and you'd vow to return for an advanced internship or to work summers, or at very least, a trip back to visit over spring break.

It was hard re-adjusting to normal life when you felt completely different. You were changed. And others couldn't necessarily understand that. You'd met people from all over the world, had relationships you'd never imagined having... you'd finally become yourself somehow. And you didn't ever want to let go of that.

I worked at Disney again after graduating from college and I became friends with kids who were on their college programs. I felt joy as I reminded myself how special it was for them. Now though most of my photo albums are put away, I still take mental vacations to that fond time period every so often. It's like an old friend, recapturing those feelings for me whenever I am seeking to be inspired or feeling down. I often wish I had a tribute - a video yearbook, something more than my mind that would replay some of my favorite scenes for me. Searching to see if something of sorts was out there, I found this person's homemade video they posted on YouTube and it rekindled some of those memories and the magical energy Disney will forever represent for me.

Why I Write

Ever since I can remember I had either a pen or a book in my hand. Poems, short stories, journal entries, letters...there's something magical and definitive about the written word. There's something about the labor of love it takes to produce something entirely original and your own.

Something about staring at a blank sheet of paper and letting whatever happens to be spinning in your head flow out and become a tangible thing. Writing comforts me, it teaches me, and so long as I have range of motion in my hand, it's one thing I know I'll never be without. Other hobbies may come and go but writing isn't like a hobby; writing is my oxygen.

I write to create, I write to affirm, I write to figure out what the heck I'm really feeling. I write to explore, to discover, to learn. I write to entertain myself and others. I write to communicate my innermost thoughts. I write to expand on subjects I didn't know I had much of an opinion on.

I write because I love the way words look and because I can arrange them and rearrange them until I get them 'just right'. I write to re-experience things, I write to let go of things, I write to rewrite endings to stories gone wrong. I write to tell others of the treasures I've found on my journey.

I write to feel less alone. I write so others will feel less alone. I write because it is the best therapy I know. I write because on paper my head never has to worry about what to say next, it simply pours out and it doesn't sound silly. I write to keep from going crazy, I write because I am crazy - all writers are, say some. I write in order to see my feelings as separate from myself so I don't have to get stuck in them. I write to release.

Thanks for reading my words. I hope whatever meaning you've constructed from them serves you well.

<3

She's Got Personality..

free enneagram test

I thoroughly enjoy taking personality quizzes. It's fun to learn some of the factors behind your psychological make up. I'm not implying I believe all people come down to is formulas but usually, I find these tools to be quite accurate. I always then want to know what 'type' my dear friends and family fall under because it's interesting to compare and see how similar or different we are. Often, it allows me to have an 'aha moment' where I'll think...wow that explains a lot.

I'm not curious because I want to categorize people as this or that but because acknowledging their unique character traits and beginning to see why people behave the way they do helps move me from a place of misunderstanding to a deeper level of compassion, love, and acceptance.

I've realized that in life, the people I have felt the closest to are the ones who have been not afraid to show their most colorful feathers, or peel back layers of skin with me to examine even the most obscure parts of ourselves. These people were not inhibited by fear of judgement, mine or their own, but instead were bravely honest about the underdeveloped parts of themselves.

I have always appreciated this level of authenticity and self disclosure and I strive to offer this same clear portrait of myself to those whom I have the pleasure of 'truly meeting' along life's path.

Hello Gorgeous!

Hi blog, I'm back!! Really, I am this time. I've been meaning to write sooner but there's just been so much going on in my life and I haven't known where to start. But here is as good a place as any.

Reflecting on prior entries, wow - sometimes I write a LOT. I'm going to focus on keeping my blogs succinct because I know it can get overwhelming to read so much at one time and who really has that much time on their hands anyhow?

But what I promise to give you is a regular peek into my life, my thoughts and feelings, the most fragile parts of myself; to share what I'm learning, exploring, and improving upon so that I can best navigate through this puzzle of a world.

I've been living at the beach for more than a year now and it's feeling more and more like home every day. But I miss my girlfriends in Orlando a great deal because they are some of the most wonderful people I have ever met and I haven't been so lucky as to find close girlfriends yet here.

No matter how well things are going, you always need a true friend whose couch you can take safe harbor on, whose shoulder you can lay your head to rest when you've had a bad day, and with whom you can smile and laugh over a cup of hot tea while you share the lighter details of your days.

So tonight I'm asking the Universe to send me some fun-loving, loyal girlfriends in the Palm Beach area, available immediately for couching, scrapbook evenings and other girlie adventures!