This week, I celebrated the 10th anniversary of my first Disney College Program internship. As time and experiences have wizened me (or, at least they've tried), I would like to take this time to impart some wisdom of my own:
Just buy the toaster.
You may think these sage words to be strange advice, but I assure you that buying the toaster taught me life lessons I never thought possible from the simple purchase of a small appliance. Please, allow me to explain.
While this lesson may seem simple, for me, it was one that took an entire month to learn. Being the thrifty sort, starting my internship meant that I was solely responsible for my own financial habits. This was my first time living away from home, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could make my meager budget work. I didn't want to spend a cent more than I had to.
Eating at restaurants was a luxury, so I chose to make my own meals. I would splurge on chicken breasts and salad greens, on occasion, but like many other people who are just starting out, I made a lot of sandwiches. Bread is cheap, and it takes no time at all to make a pb&j or ham and cheese. Voila! Dinner is served. My problem, however, is that I had no toaster.
It may not seem like a big deal. Some people choose not to toast their sandwich bread, but I am not one of those people. For me, there is nothing worse than a soggy sandwich, and unless you toast your bread, that's exactly what you get. Every time.
Day after soggy-sandwich day, I suffered through the consequences of my life choices. For weeks, my frugality won while my morale and appetite suffered. I was in the happiest place on earth, and yet my sandwiches were the saddest in all the land.
Finally, exactly one month into my internship, I caved. Unable to attempt to eat one more soggy bite, I shelled out $5 or $10 and bought a toaster, and that day became a turning point for me.
That day, I realized that when it comes to saving money, it's OK to spend a little on things that make your life a bit easier and more enjoyable. If I had known that the real cost of not buying the toaster was a month of lackluster lunches and downright disgusting dinners, I would have purchased it right away!
So, in buying that toaster (back on September 21, 2006) I now have a better idea of what the balance between money and happiness means for me, and while there are certainly other ways I could have learned it, I'm glad to mark it among one of the first lessons I gained during my time at Disney.
