What better place to be by yourself than on the happiest place on Earth?
This past Thursday I attended #DisneylandAfterDark for their Star Wars night, but months ago when I bought tickets I only bought one with the assumption that out of all the people I knew, chances were somebody else would be going, right? Well, sort of. But not really.
Picture this: you go to class in cosplay because at this point in the semester you really don’t give two flying fucks; you possibly failed that final because you only answered 66% of the questions and only half of those with absolute certainty, but when you walk out of that final, you have a mission: Disneyland.
Packed into my car and racing off to the happiest place on Earth, it set in that I was about to undertake something I never had before. Now, I have an idea of what you’re thinking: “Disneyland? A hard thing? You’re kidding right? #FirstWorldProblemsReactsOnly #OdysseySpotting” But for someone who has intense anxiety in large crowds, yeah, going by myself was a lot.
Yet, it was also awesome and incredibly rewarding. It turns out I did have friends who were also at the park that day, but by the time I arrived after my final we had the opportunity to snap a few pics, and then they were asked to leave by park staff to allow for the tightly-guarded event to begin. And then, I was alone. Or at least, I thought I was. But in reality, I was surrounded by hundreds of individuals who were all brought together by one connecting factor: Star Wars.
No matter the background, families, and individuals (other people, alone like me!) all gathered together to celebrate something they love in a place they love. There’s nothing that binds you together quite like that. Or at least, that’s my take on it. I imagine this what people talk about when they go to church...something larger than themselves that they can use to tell stories of right and wrong (even though it’s a lot more complicated than a judicial binary) and share their love of these stories with others.
The fan love is a love like no other I’ve ever felt. As everyone knows, the lines at Disneyland can be and are always long (and during Disneyland After Dark, no fastpasses are distributed), however in my experience people are incredibly friendly, willing to strike up conversation over what you thought of the latest movie, comic, or even simply enough to compliment you on your costume work, then break into the ethical debate of commissioned/homemade cosplay.
It was in the midst of all this pervasive love that I realized something. Yes, Disneyland is fantastic and Star Wars is f a n t a s t i c, and this night was something out of a dream with Star Wars themed food and meet and greets, but it all happened because of one thing: love. People love Disneyland, they love Star Wars, and they love the feeling of joy they experience when engaged with these things.
It was going by myself to this event that made it possible for me to turn introspective and realize that people made this all happen. People made these stories and conceptualized concepts that people would be in heated debate about for decades to come. But it all started from a dream, a dream that was chased, caught, and worked for all the blood, sweat, and tears it would take to make that dream a reality.
It was through this that I realized I wanted to do, or reaffirmed rather. I want to make dreams reality. I was to make the type of art that’s tangible and accessible, the type of storytelling that is pervasive and strikes your very feeling core. And then to have the access and brilliance that Disney has to make their content physically accessible to their fans-- it blows my mind, and it almost makes me want to work for them. All most.
I was reminded that I am here on this planet to tell stories, and to change the way we look at stories to reflect a world better than we live in now. Even though there is so much hate and despair in the world, the silver linings of positivity come around often enough to wade off the storm.
It’s important to take time off and be by yourself, even if just a few hours.
Such an endeavor can put things in perspective for you and remind you of a purpose you might have if you feel lost.
But you have to fight for it, fight to make that dream a reality, and all your dreams will come true.
