An email. An email from the place I cherished the most had the most profound impact on my life. That email changed me. I didn’t know it then.

But damn do I know it now.

Walt Disney World was my childhood. Most kids grew up singing theme songs from Elmo or the Teletubbies. I grew up singing A Whole New World and A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. It’s what my mom raised me on so it’s what I knew. I remember looking through the shelf of all the different colored VHS covers to pick which Disney movie my sister and I were going to watch after school. We visited almost once a year and sometimes even twice. It was my home away from home. I stopped using the park maps at age 5. I knew it like the back of my hand. I didn’t think about the meaning behind it. I didn’t thank my parents for allowing me to enjoy this privilege. I just enjoyed being where I was happy. Simple and innocent.

As I grew up, the meaning of Disney and the magic always stayed in my heart, but in a different way. You begin to look at things in a new perspective. You start to question the seemingly perfect place. You start to realize that it’s not all magic. That’s when I decided that at some point I was going to work for the company that put happiness and magic as a priority. I wanted to know the secrets, I wanted to know the inside scoop.

I was just shy of being of being a 20 year old when I stumbled upon the application to be a participant in the Disney College Program. People don’t get in. I convinced myself of that. I was so excited that I knew I would be heartbroken if the place I called home rejected me. People don’t get in. I applied on a whim, the last day the application was open. I went through the interview process. People don’t get in. I answered question after question convincing myself I wasn’t any good for the program and that there were so many over qualified applicants.

An email. An email from the place I cherished most had the most profound impact on my life.

I got in. I was going to work and live in the fairy tale I had always wished for. I accepted on the last day possible and decided that I would regret not doing the thing I have always dreamed of.

What I didn’t know is I was making the best decision of my life. What I didn’t know is that I was accepting to make some of the greatest friendships I have ever had. What I didn’t know is that I was accepting to meet people from all over the world from so many different cultures. What I didn’t know is that I was accepting to have the most eye opening work experience. What I didn’t know is that I was accepting to work for one of the most respected and successful companies in the world. What I didn’t know is that I was accepting to make memories that I will never forget. What I didn’t know is that I was accepting to forever change my life.

I am a changed person.

This program changed me. It honestly and truly did. I never had self confidence in anything I did, but to know that I was chosen among thousands of applicants to stand next to and work beside some of the greatest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting sparked something in me. I was meant to be there. I was meant to experience everything that program had to offer. I grew up. I learned. I failed. I laughed. I cried. I lived.

I had my bad days where things never seemed to go right. I had my good days where I met the most incredible people. People always say you need to step away from your monotonous life to find yourself. Well I did just that. They were right. I learned things about myself that I never even knew I had to learn. I shocked myself.

Thank you.

Thank you to the recruiter who said yes. Thank you to my parents who let me go. Thank you to the person who allowed me to run away to the circus. Thank you to my fellow cast members. Thank you to all the friends I was blessed to have put in my life. Thank you to Walt Disney for creating such a wonderful and exciting company. Thank you to the cast members who spread the pixie dust throughout all parks and onto guests of all ages. Thank you to Mickey Mouse for allowing everyone to feel the magic.

Because I felt it.