When Peter Pan said that all it takes is faith, trust, and pixie dust, he meant it.
On the morning of August 31, 2016, I woke up embarrassingly late for school after a long night of researching study abroad programs. The theme of escaping my concept of normal was weighing heavily on my mind as I made the 40 minute drive to campus, despite having my favorite class that day and a particularly fun assignment to present.
When I got to class, I sat in the back of the room (as always) while I nervously awaited my turn to present my assignment, which was to bring an object that I felt embodied who I was. I stood up, presented my journal–a deep, droney representation of how contained I felt as a person–and, once finished, resumed daydreaming that I was a fraction as interesting as those around me. However, as soon as I finished, a girl whose outfits were always on point stood up and proceeded to tell the class how the white oval name tag in her hand was an inanimate representation of the brightest point of her life.
Contrary to my tendency to shy away from unknown, I caught up to her after class as I was dying to know more about this college student-exclusive opportunity to live and work at Disney World. Her kind soul walked me through the application process, which I begun immediately. All hope of concentration on schoolwork dwindled, as the concept of existing in this mysterious fairytale was one more rife with magic than my heart could handle.
On September 23, 2016, I got accepted into the Disney College Program, and from that moment forward, everything in my lonely, directionless life began looking up. I carried a newfound confidence in myself for merely being good enough to be accepted, and I felt like I finally belonged to something.
While on the program, not only did I find people that changed my perspective on the nature of humanity (coming from a small, conservative, ethnically uniform town, that was not at all difficult), meet the love of my life and some of the best friends I will ever have, and begin mastering the art of creating happiness, I found myself. I found where my soul was meant to thrive. Whether that’s Disney as a whole--the countless movies and songs that define millions of childhoods, Disney Parks, or simply the people that I had the privilege to live and work with, I’m still not entirely sure. But whatever it was, it saved me.
I evolved from a reclusive subscriber to mediocrity (at best) to someone with goals and aspirations that soar to infinity and beyond what my small hometown in Kentucky could ever imagine. I went from a dreamer to a doer, dedicating each and every one of my days to accomplishing another vital step in my journey. I transformed. And that is the real magic.