I have done quite a few things in my life that would be particularly interesting to the average person. I've attended a fat camp, traveled around the world, started a non-profit organization, and much more. For some reason though, the thing that seems to intrigue people the most is how I worked as a Ride Operator at Universal Studios for almost a year.

I'm not sure what it was that made me want to apply, accept and actually start working there, but I always found Universal to be fascinating. While other little girls wanted to be princesses at Disney, I wanted to ride the Back To The Future Ride and pretend I was Marty McFly – shoutout to my parents for raising me to be a nerd. This, of course, contributed to me wanting to work there. I was a hospitality major in desperate need of an internship to finish my degree and Universal met all the requirements my University asked for; so instead of working at an actual hotel, I went with a theme park.

What I expected and what I ended up with were two completely different things. Let me begin by telling you which rides I operated. I worked in Seuss Landing at the Caro-Seuss-el, One Fish Two Fish, and If I Ran The Zoo. This basically means that I worked outdoors, in a bright orange and pale blue outfit with lots of hula hoops.

I went into this job assuming it would be a piece of cake. I mean, I ran a Non-Profit so what could be more difficult than that?

Let me list a few things that are more difficult than running a Non-Profit which I discovered very quickly at Seuss Landing. Getting yelled at constantly in every language you can imagine, babies crying at a volume that is louder than an Imax theatre's surround sound, cleaning out mechanical fish that are actually very wet and slippery, rhyming the same seatbelt spiel to angry guests, and almost fainting from exposure to direct sunlight for long periods of time without being able to sit down.

These are only some of the things that I learned at Seuss. I also learned that people can be extremely rude for no apparent reason and many have very colorful language that they are willing to throw out at you. Working at a theme park made me truly angry some days. It made me question why I wanted to go into the field of helping people when many are so ungrateful.

But, it also made me realize the amazing little things about humanity that we don't even pay attention to.

I saw guests who didn't know each other start conversations in line and become friends. I witnessed grumpy children start to laugh when the water sprayed them on a ride. I watched as a kind woman bought me a lemon freeze drink because she saw I was overheating while at the greeter position of my ride. I listened intently as an old Indian man told me about how he was stationed in the town where my father grew up.

Something about these little things astonished me and made it all worth it. As if this wasn't enough to keep me enthralled with the job I worked, there were my co-workers.

I saw my wonderful co-workers of every color, shape, and size not only working together but laughing and living together, too. I saw how much they cared about me in and outside of the park.

I was in a bad car accident the same year I worked there and without a doubt, they were the first people to ask if I was okay and to offer to help me. They helped get me through my recovery and were so patient with me at work when I couldn't do things I used to be able to. Leaving that job was one of the hardest things I ever did because I knew I would miss the little things I got to see every day, and the awesome friends I made.

Working at Universal shaped me as a person, and I think I am better for it. I view things in a different light than I used to. The world can be harsh and cruel, it's true. But it can also be colorful, bright, and beautiful when you choose to focus on the right things. Positivity can be learned, and I'm glad that Seuss Landing is where I learned it.