Disney World - “The happiest place on Earth”; the place where everyone is a child, the place where magic is real, and the place where the majority of my childhood vacations were spent. I was five years old the first time my family visited, and I can still feel the magic of my first trip there. I remember riding the monorail, and seeing Cinderella’s castle for the very first time. I was in awe. My parents bought me an autograph book. It was the coolest thing since the Easy Bake Oven. I had countless moments with the characters, but my favorite was always Cinderella. My whole trip was built around meeting her.
Finally, it happened. My sister, Katie, and I met her during breakfast in the Castle. I walked up to her and said, “Cinderella, I’ve always loved you!” Little did I know, that was the beginning of a life-long friendship. The next day, much to my amazement (and to the amazement of all the people around us) she remembered our names, and called “Hi Meghan and Katie," during the parade. “How could this be real?” little me thought. “Out of all of the people that Cinderella meets every single say, she recognized my sister and me!” I was on cloud nine. Magic was REAL, and nothing could bring me down.
The innocence of childhood is something that we search for, as we grow older. Those ten page papers, paying rent, and the pressures that come with being a young adult in college didn’t exist, as it does now. You could be anything that you wanted to be, in your own little world! An acting teacher once told me that when we are born, we have an empty backpack that we carry around with us. We are pure from any heartache or despair, and as we grow older, we fill this backpack with different experiences. Whether these experiences are good or bad, they have an impact on you, and who you will become. Believing in the magic of Disney as a child helped shape me into the person that I am today. I filled my “little me” backpack with memories from those visits, and incorporated them into my every day life as a young adult.
My dream is to make people happy for a living. I’m not sure in what way that dream will manifest, but I know it will happen. Every decision I’ve made with my career, my choices, and my activities are driven by this dream. I love to perform - singing, dancing, acting. The place where I feel the most confident and unstoppable is on a stage. Seeing a smiling and happy audience during a performance is just about the greatest feeling in the world. Interacting with these characters, seeing the joy that they bring people of all ages, and seeing the joy they get from making people happy is directed by my love of performing. I appreciate the little things, make connections with the audience, and take nothing for granted. I break out into song sometimes, because life can be a whole lot more fun if you sing about it. I dream big.
These memories have also brought my family closer. Even when we are struggling at times to make ends meet, we reflect on the priceless times that we had together, and can do nothing but smile. We use our collective backpack to keep us focused on each other, and our happiness.
Walt Disney said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Go for your dreams, and let nothing stop you. When you are feeling overwhelmed and you want to cry, think of the things that you love. Think of the perfect beach trips, or watching your favorite movie with your best friend. Fill your backpack with those moments and the experiences. When you need them, they’ll be there to help you and to guide you, because they are magical, and magic is real.
