I did the Disney College Program from February to August 2015, and anyone that knows me knows I talk about it all the time—how amazing Disney World is, how much I adored my job, and how I met some of the most amazing people. But even more than that, I think I learned more about life in six months than I had in my 19 and a half years until that point. Here’s what I’ve chosen to be the 10 most important pieces of life advice I learned during my Disney College Program:
1. There are so many adventures that aren’t out of reach. I didn’t even know the college program existed until maybe three months before I applied and six months before I moved to Florida for half a year. I wanted a change of scenery, but I couldn’t afford to study abroad, so I looked into other (read: cheaper) options. That’s when I found the college program, and it totally changed my life. If you want adventure or change, there’s always an option and it’s always possible.
2. It’s okay to not know what you want to do with the rest of your life. I met so many people who had been working at Disney “temporarily” for years with unaccomplished plans of going to school or getting a better job. Or, they had another career, hated it, and came back to work for Disney anyway, because what they had thought would make them happy actually didn’t. I was hoping my college program would give me insight as to what I wanted to do with my life, but instead, it gave me the satisfaction that it’s okay to not have any plans because chances are, they’d just change anyway.
3. Even though some of the friendships may be temporary, they are still valuable. There are so many people I met in Florida that I haven’t spoken to since I left. At first, not being around the people I had been around all day, every day for sixth months was super rough, but then I realized that I learned something great from every person I met at Disney. So, those relationships, even though they were temporary, were of some benefit to me, and I hope I had an impact on the people I met. And as for the people I’m still in contact with, even better. I’ve potentially made some lifelong friends throughout the country. Hello, vacation to Hawaii!
4. There’s something to learn from everyone. Before going to Disney, my main priority in life was to graduate college, get a good job, and move up in the world—be successful (whatever that is). But, as I interacted more and more with my coworkers, I quickly realized quality of life isn’t nearly as reliant on success as it is on happiness. Are you really successful if you aren’t happy? I realize there are more important things than a six-figure salary.
5. We all came from different places but ended up at the same place. It still amazes me that I met and became friends with people from Australia, Thailand, Mexico, Scotland, Canada, and a countless number of other places. I became friends with people from totally different backgrounds, with totally different life experiences, and totally different belief systems than me. But, as different as we all were, we all ended up in the same place—working for Disney. It’s so strange that we can all be so different but connected by this common link and work together in perfect (well, mostly perfect) harmony.
6. Life isn’t meant to be taken too seriously. Everyone makes mistakes, but it’s the reaction to your mistakes that defines you as a person. I’ve developed this new mindset of laughing at myself when I do something dumb and, oddly enough, it works. I don’t stress about making a fool of myself anymore, because I know that, if all else fails, I’ll at least get a good laugh out of it. When I first started my job at Disney, I was so uncomfortable and I’m not exactly the most graceful person in the world. But, as I watched the people around me struggle as well, I found that everyone has those days where nothing goes right and all you can do is laugh it off.
7. There will always be stress, even at Disney World. Nothing goes exactly as planned. Buses (hello, Transtar!) break down, it rains every time you have a good hair day, and you can totally see your underwear through your white uniform shorts. No big deal. But stress is normal, and can happen anywhere, especially at Disney.
8. There is good in every person. I worked at the water park, so at the beginning of the season, we were really slow. I loved that, though, because it gave me a lot of time to get to know my coworkers and hear their stories. It amazed me how even the people I didn’t really like being around had wonderful stories to tell and, after getting to know them, I understood them better. If you take the time to find the good in people, working with them will be a lot more comfortable and entertaining.
9. You are more capable than you realize. The thought of moving 900 miles away from my family and friends, starting a new job, and not knowing a single person was incredibly daunting. But I told myself it would be worth it. I learned that, sometimes, you just need to keep pushing forward because even if life is annoying right now, it won’t stay that way forever, and you don’t know how much you can handle until something stresses you to the max.
10. Where you live really isn’t important—it’s how you look at it and who you surround yourself with that counts. So, you got put in the crappy housing and you’re not too happy about it. Yeah, that’s exactly what happened to me. I lived in a small, dingy, dirty, and probably unsafe apartment but, for some reason, it really didn’t bother me at all. I think it’s because I was surrounded by wonderful people in a wonderful place, and I really just needed my room as a place to sleep sometimes anyway. To me, having the time of my life and allowing other people to have the times of their lives was so much more important than living somewhere super upscale and comfortable. And, added bonus, I appreciate my bedroom and my home so much more now.
The lessons I learned at Disney stretched far beyond my food and beverage role—I learned some super valuable life lessons from some amazing people, and I wouldn’t change anything about my college program experience!
