Nearing the age of twenty, no matter the time or day, there is nothing I would rather do than grab my sequined Minnie Mouse ears, squeeze into a car and head to Disney World.

Disney is my life. My parent’s honey moon was at Disney World, one of the first places I went to when I moved to the US was Disney World, I spend every Christmas at Disney World.

But why Disney? It’s simple really. There is something about the innocence of it all that attracts me to Disney World. It is the feeling that nothing bad can happen at Disney,

Disney World is the place I go to when everything else goes wrong. I am incredibly lucky to get to visit all the time. Whenever I feel stressed or sad, whenever I feel like celebrating something, or whenever our free weekends coincide, my family grabs our annual passes, books a hotel and heads out.

It is impossible to feel sad or upset at Disney World. The second you walk in, the engineered smell of baked goods, pine, and nature overpowers you. You see countless balloons, children running around smiling so big, food on their face. Their happiness is so pure and innocent, they don’t know stress, they don’t know sadness, they only know fun, joy.

I miss feeling that way, I miss not knowing about what was going on around me, walking around singing along to the Lion King, believing that the characters were real and I was really getting to spend time with the real life Jasmine and Aladdin. Seeing a little kid so happy makes you happy. Happiness is contagious, smiling is contagious. When you see a little boy dressed as a Jedi truly believing he’s in Star Wars, it is impossible not to smile and join in.

When I walk into Magic Kingdom, I get to feel that again. I get to feel my stomach below me as I sore on the Magic Carpets, a view of the whole park right in front of me. I get to forget my diet for a few days because I know damn well those Turkey Legs and Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Sandwiches are not contributing to my summer body.

My entire childhood was centered around Disney, the parks, the music, the movies, the channel. My happiest memories are in those forty square miles. Nothing will ever compare to that feeling of being literally taken aback by that final boom at the fireworks show. Where else will you find adults belting out their favorite Disney Songs. Tarzan? The Little Mermaid? Frozen? As the music plays across the part, we sing along, without a single care in the world.

Most of all, I hope that my adulthood is centered around Disney so that I can bring my future children and let them experience the magic. My whole life there has been a tradition to it: every Christmas, every birthday. Every park in the same order, only the rides you love, eating at the restaurants you love, a yearly souvenir. I have spent the past 19 years of my life dreaming of my next Disney trip, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.