Happiness Is A Journey.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

What a powerful statement. Happiness is a journey. Have you ever thought about that? Or maybe you've had the thought of, "I'll be happy when..." or "I'd be happy if..." I'm sure you have. We all have. It's such an easy thought to have. We all want happiness out of life, but for some reason we do whatever we can to put it off for later. I am pleased to say that I am making every effort to not live that way. I want to enjoy the journey. I've already had so many journeys in my 21 years that it's difficult to imagine what could possibly come next, or what the destination could be. And that's the greatest part. In my life, I have had so many amazing opportunities. I truly have an amazing life, and I know I'm so lucky for everything I've been through. I'm especially lucky for all the people in my life. I don't know what I would do without the support system I have been blessed with. They are all a huge part of the happiness I have in my life. So my challenge to the world is this: Take a moment to appreciate one thing you have in your life. Then find something else to be happy about. And keep finding things to be happy about until all the bad things seem a little smaller.

I say all this for many reasons. The main reason is that I was really upset earlier today at how disgustingly humid this place is. Seriously. It's awful. It made me envious of the 106 degree day everyone back home was enduring. Which is silly. It's just weather.  So I went to Target and got some Fall decorations and a couple pumpkin scented candles and decided autumn would now be upon us, at least inside of The Blue House. And guess what? Now The Blue House smells fantastic and I feel a little better. It's still disgusting outside, but there will come a day when it isn't. I'm lucky enough to have air conditioning and running water. Those two things alone put me well above the poverty line in the world. It's a good life, people. If you're able to read this, you are more fortunate than the majority of the world because A, you can read, and B, you have internet access and are able to see this blog. Appreciate the life you've been given. I know I do. And I appreciate you, whoever you may be, for taking the time out of your day or night to read this.

People always wonder what I'm doing here in Florida, besides having one of the strangest, coolest, most rewarding jobs ever. It's kind of funny; my life here isn't all that different from my life back home. You know, once you set aside the whole job thing. And the fact that my playground is Disney World. Or that I'm 21 and refer to anything as my "playground." And the fact that at The Blue House, we look for any excuse to decorate using Disney anything. Oh wait, that's the same as home. Anyway. I work 5 or 6 days a week. When I'm not working, I'm probably watching Netflix, hanging out with my wonderful friends, watching Netflix with my friends, or making a trip to Target. If you didn't know, that's almost exactly what I did back home. Sure, the friends are different and this Target is a lot farther away, and when I want a dose of Disney Magic, I can have the real thing instead of driving 30 minutes to visit The Disney Store in the mall. But other than that, it's the same. It's just a different version of the same life. It's a challenge to find time to spend time with my friends considering how different our schedules are, but we make it work. It's always nice when the girls of The Blue House can all be in the same place at once. And we have been blessed with a few great friends since we all moved back to Florida.

All of this aside, it is very strange to compare my life to the lives of other people my age. So many of the people I graduated high school with are in such a different place than I am. Most of them have graduated college or are in their senior year of college. Some are married. Some have a baby. Some have multiple children. I have two pumpkin candles, every Disney movie I've ever considered a classic, a large collection of Minnie ears, and a photo album on my phone entitled "Neverland" that is made up of 125 pictures of Tinker Bell. I promise I'm not obsessed with her. My friends just enjoy following her around with a camera. And I'm glad they do.

On that note, Tinker Bell is one of the greatest things to ever happen to me. I have loved every moment with her so far and look forward to spending more time with her in the future. I love my other character friends just as much I did before, but Tinker Bell is so different from them. It takes so much extra thinking for me to spend time with her. At the same time though, it feels completely natural, like I have been friends with her forever. I look forward to the adventures she and I will have together.

For now, I'm going to find some Minnie ears to match my outfits for this weekend because my mom is coming to see me! I am so excited to see her and my aunts, Jane and Sarah, this weekend! We are going to have a great time! On top of that, since school has started, park attendance and wait times have dropped immensely! See you soon, Expedition Everest! I just hope I remember to get some pictures while they're here!

Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So enjoy the journey.