When it comes to my college career, I took an untraditional route. I graduated a year early from high school and chose to get my associates degree at my local community college while I fulfilled my dream of working at Walt Disney World in Orlando. I worked there for two years from that age of 17 to 19 before transferring to a university. (And no, I was not in the Disney College Program).

I would not trade my experience for anything different.

My time spent at Disney helped me to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life, led me to my dream school, and it has made me a more confident person. With any job though there are ups and downs, every moment wasn't as magical as the commercials depict it to be. But with each less-than-magical moment, there were a hundred magical moments that made the frustrating moments melt away. A lot of people wonder why I wanted to work there so badly and what was the attraction.

Well, as cheesy as it sounds Disney has always been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember but working there never really appealed to me until I discovered my dream role.

I can pinpoint the exact day I discovered my dream role at Disney almost five years ago on a very chilly January day in the Magic Kingdom. It took me three attempts and lots of waiting until I was hired and whisked away into the overwhelming world of being a cast member.

I toyed around with whether or not I should even write this article for fear of sounding like I was complaining of getting to play and work where people dream of visiting. However, I decided to go for it because it was the best experience of my whole life so far, even the not-so-great parts. Being as young as I was I often felt like I wasn't taken seriously and I didn't have the courage that you so desperately need to stand up for yourself in such a competitive atmosphere. When it comes to working at the most well-known and largest theme park, you can get lost among the numbers of other cast members who share the same role and ambitions as you. It's very difficult to stand out in such a large crowd at such a young age.

However, I knew I wasn't going to be in that specific role for the rest of my life so moving up to leadership positions wasn't my top priority at that time. I also felt like I never made close friends during my two years of employment. Every shift I worked, there was always a new group of people I would work with. Occasionally, I would work with people I knew already but very rarely. I never got to make a close-knit coworker family like I was used to at my previous job. I would often feel lonely and it took a toll on me mentally.

Do I miss working there and would I ever go back? Yes and yes.

While there were ups and downs to my job it never took away from working in such a — dare I say — magical place. In fact, it made me appreciate Disney even more. The hard work and dedication of my fellow cast members is inspiring and makes me want to go back. People don't decide to work at Disney for the money, they choose to work there because they love it, and it truly shows in the work they all do.

Working for such a large company at such a young age has taught me an endless list of professional and regular life skills that I will be able to carry with me for the rest of my life. The most important skill I learned was that if you are early, you're on time and if you're on time, you're late. Being on time in my role was so imperative that if you were even a couple minutes late, you could throw off the whole operation. Even after a year of no longer working at Disney, I still find myself 15 or even 30 minutes early to places or events. Working at Disney also taught me how to be a morning person AND a night owl. With shifts starting as early as 6 am or even 2 a.m. and shifts ending as late as 3 a.m. or even 4 a.m. Occasionally you could be scheduled an overnight shift too where you are clocking in at midnight and clocking out at sunrise. It was all worth it though to be able to see the sunrise over the castle after a long night of exhaustion and MAGIC. It never failed to revive my love for the main mouse. (I'm talking about Mickey Mouse BTW.)

More importantly, all pixie dust and tears aside, working at Disney introduced me to three of my best friends I know I will have for the rest of my life. Even though I no longer work and live in the area I know they will always be there for me. One of my friends I met through Disney is even the reason I go to the university I attend now. I discovered what I want to major in and do for the rest of my life by working at Disney. Being exposed to so many different operations and branches of the Walt Disney Company really helped finalized the path I want to take. My two years at Disney gave me skills I could have never obtained working at a normal retail job and I know it will help me in my future professional career and hopefully right back home to Disney World. I'm going to end this article with the cheesiest line ever because it just seems right and my old pal Mickey would definitely approve, "so long, everybody, see ya real soon!"