If I am going to tell this story, then I have to go back to the beginning to tell it. For anyone that knows me really well, can tell you how much of a die hard Disney fan I am. So people are probably not surprised when they hear how I now am currently working for Disney. But my journey here was not an easy one. And it all starts about four years ago, when I first started college. As a young 18-year-old girl, I am not gonna lie, I was excited for college. I was always excited when it came to new adventures and going new places. But the start of my college career was not a good one. To make a long story short, I was bullied my first semester of college and I had little to no friends. I was friendless, depressed and alone. Since I barely had anyone to talk to or hang out with at my college, I resorted to spending a lot of time online. I spent a lot of my time on Tumblr at the time. On Tumblr I followed a lot of Disney blogs and I would often go to those blogs and read about Disney as an escape from my misery at the time. It was through this Disney blogging on Tumblr that I then stumbled upon a term that had jumped out at me. One night I came across someone talking about something called the “Disney College Program.” This stood out to me and I started doing research about it and I soon realized that this was something I wanted to do so I started looking into it. I started looking at Disney as an oasis, a place to getaway. A year later, I applied to the Disney College Program for the first time. And this is where my journey begins.

I applied for the first time and I was really expecting to get in. I thought I was a perfect candidate for the Program and felt I would really belong there. So you could imagine my heartbreak and dismay when I got turned down after not passing the web-based interview. But that didn't stop me. As the years went on, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I would love to be a part of the Disney universe. As each application season came, I applied and every time I kept getting denied. Although it frustrated me, that just added more fuel to the fire as to why I wanted to go even more. I would not give up until I got in. I wanted to be a part of this more than anything.

And now my time has finally come. I applied in September of 2015, with plans of not even potentially applying that season, just to wing it and see what happened. By some miracle I finally got a phone interview. Three weeks later, my dream came true and I was accepted for the Spring 2016 semester, after three years and five times applying. I did not.

I have now been a part of my program for about three months now and I honestly could not be happier. I even got my first choice of a role. I'm a PhotoPass photographer. I love my job. I even work in Magic Kingdom and I get to look at the castle everyday and it honestly never a gets old. More than anything, I'm thankful for the people I've met here.

I am so beyond thankful for my Disney friends. I'm happy that I found the people that I did. I may only have a select few people I hang out with, but I honestly can't imagine my program without them. I'm glad that I am doing my program now than any other time, because then I wouldn't have met these awesome people. My friends get my weird, obscure references and they're just as crazy as I am. And obviously, the fact that we all love Disney is a plus.

I'm also really glad to finally be here because everyday that I'm work, I get to make magic for people, as cheesy as that sounds (although working in Magic Kingdom, phrases like this stop becoming cheesy after a while). I'm a photographer, so I literally capture people’s memories that they will continue to look at and cherish for years to come. Just last night, I was photographing Anna and Elsa and the fact that I was able to capture the pure happiness of the kids when they met their favorite princess is a great feeling. I love communicating with guests and helping them get the photos they want. I've honestly never been happier. There is a reason why the first time I saw the Cinderella castle after all these years I cried. Because after trying so hard to make it here, I finally made it, and seeing the Cinderella castle just showed me how I was there!

This experience has also helped me realize what I want to do after the program ends. To be honest, I don't want to go home. I'm originally from New York and as much as I miss the nightlife and theater (and the pizza) of New York City, I am just so happy to be in Orlando and in Disney. Besides, it took me three years to get here, I want to cherish every moment I have here. I am also thrilled because I just recently got the news that I will be extending my program through the summer. All my friends have extended as well, so I'm thrilled that we will all be sticking around longer. I don't want to leave Orlando. I've started thinking about what options I have for me down here for whenever I may end my program. If anything though, I'm happy that I'm finally here. I feel like my being down here now was the way it was meant to be. Who knows what would've happened if I had gotten in on the first try? Things may have been a lot different. But no, I'm glad that I came in 2016.

So 2016 has been a great year and I am beyond words to describe how happy I am. I am literally living my dream every single day that I'm down here. I mean, how many people get to say that? As much as I miss home, I feel like I'm going to be sticking around Disney for a long time. And every single night when I watch "Celebrate the Magic", the light show on the castle, I cry whenever they play the segment with Walt Disney’s voice. Because Walt Disney had a dream as well, and now we are a part of his dream every day. And I get to live my dream in the amazing world that he's created. And I cry every time because it gives me assurance that I made it and that I am finally in Disney World and that I'm here to stay.