Off to Neverland!

I have now been here for seven months. I can't believe the time has flown like it has. For a while it felt like it was dragging on, but looking back now, a lot has happened so quickly. I had a great holiday season. My roommates and I were able to adopt some friends to spend Thanksgiving with. The twins made a fantastic dinner for us all and we just spent the day enjoying each others' company and watching Christmas movies. We went Black Friday shopping that evening and were in bed by 11. 

A couple weeks later, my best friend, Emma, came to visit! I was able to take her to the parks for a couple days. I think she's now fallen in love with Goofy. Who can blame her? She starts her Disney College Program in just a few weeks. I do hope she's excited, or at least getting excited. Nothing can prepare you for what it's like to move halfway across the country and start a job at a place like Disney World. But at least now she's been here in the last decade and hopefully has something to look forward to! I know I'm excited for her to be here!

Two days after Emma returned home, my 22nd birthday was here! Some friends and I went to Magic Kingdom to celebrate. I met Peter Pan for the first time. We talked about pixie dust and flying to Neverland (he was a bit disappointed that I was celebrating my birthday because that's growing up and growing up is bad) and I kind of understand now why all the girls are so obsessed with him. Don't worry, I haven't joined the club. After seeing Peter, we watched Festival of Fantasy and a Photopass photographer pulled me out into the middle of Main Street for a birthday photo shoot. Later that evening, a few more friends joined us for dinner. It was really a wonderful day. I looked back that night and realized in that moment just how lucky I am.

 

The next day, I got the best birthday present of all. My sweet boyfriend got me a plane ticket to come home for a few days. It was so nice being able to spend time with him and see my family. Before I returned to Florida, we adopted two Bengal kittens. They are the cutest and most playful little things. Oh, and they are brother and sister, so naturally we named them Luke and Leia. Nerd alert. I won't lie, I know they love me and I love them. I'm their new mom. Hooray!

I got back to Orlando just in time for my family to join me for Christmas. I had to work most of the week, but was able to score a couple days off. They were nice and didn't ask me to spend any time at the parks if I wasn't working. They even braved the crowds to come see Minnie Mouse while I was with her! On one of my days off that week, we all went to Clearwater to visit Winter the Dolphin. Apparently everyone else had the same idea because that place was packed! We had a nice time together though!

Somewhere in this timeline, I also went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party with my roommate, Susie! I had never been before, but I absolutely loved it! I was sick, unfortunately, so I had to wander around the emporium while we waited for the parade instead of standing out in the cold. I'm so glad we were able to go though! It was such a cute experience and a great way to get into the Christmas spirit!

During all of this, I've also gotten a little extra time with my favorite fairy and my new precious friend, Wendy Darling! The two of them have given me some of the best adventures.

The last few months as well as my time with Wendy and Tinker Bell have really opened my eyes to how great my life is. I don't have a lot of friends, but I have a few great ones. I was able to go to Disney World for my birthday. Disney World! The place that most people will never visit and most of the people who do visit will only go once because they spend so long saving money for it. I can go virtually any time I'd like. That's so special. And oh yeah, I have one of the coolest jobs. The people that have taken time out of their day specifically to come and find me and my character friends mean so much to me. They get the same interaction as everyone else, but they still make special time for me anyway. And everyone that has come to visit Tink or Wendy took lots of pictures and then shared them with me soon after. It means a lot that I am going to be able to remember these days because of the people involved. These amazing people have made my time here so wonderful. It got off to a bumpy start, but now I feel like I'm going strong!

I also had a fantastic weekend last week, but I'll have to make a separate post about that because this is already way too long! I was able to get some time off next week and the week after, so I am going home for a whole week! I'm so excited! Happy thoughts, everyone!

We don't have to go home, we can leave the night on.

I guess after two months of silence is as good a time as any to finally update everyone on the happenings of my life. A lot has been going on and I haven't felt much like taking time to sit down and think about it all. I am finally at a place, though, where I can look back a little.

I guess I should start with September. My mom and aunts came to see me and it was great. I was able to get a day off to spend with them, which was nice. They also came to visit me while I was hanging out with Minnie Mouse at Animal Kingdom. We enjoyed lunch together that day and then met up after I was finished with work. It is hard for me to have people visit. I struggle with being at work, knowing they're here, but not being able to see them or spend time with them. I'm always grateful for the time I do get though. The week after they left, I got to flutter around with Tinker Bell and some twinkling lights in the electrical parade. My roommates and some friends came to watch us. Unfortunately, it rained all evening, so the first parade was cancelled. I was so sad and so nervous the second parade would also be cancelled. After sitting for two hours, waiting, the second parade was able to go out! Was I thrilled? You bet. Was it magical? More than you or I could have possibly imagined.

I was able to attend one of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Parties! We all dressed as various characters from the movie Tarzan. I have to admit, we looked adorable. It was such a good time. In true Orlando fashion, it poured on us for the first hour and a half. After that, it was pretty nice though! We got to meet lots of characters and watch the parade both times.

In the middle of October, I was able to visit home for a couple days. It wasn't a long trip, so I wasn't able to see everyone I would have liked, but I did see several people that are very dear to me. My primary motivation for visiting home was to see my sweet dog, Dazey, one last time. I am so grateful I was able to make that trip. She passed away just two weeks later. I like to think she was waiting for me to say goodbye. I'll admit, that was the hardest time I've ever had leaving that house. I'm just thankful for the hand I had to hold in the car as we drove away. There are moments in life we will never forget. All the times I was able to hold onto Dazey that weekend and then lay my head on Michael's shoulder as he calmed my tears will not be forgotten.

On a happier note, I FINALLY got to super greet for an entire shift. I was sent to the Monsters Inc Dance Party a few weeks ago. It was fantastic. I just helped the characters when they needed it and danced with them the rest of the time.

 

I called my mom two weeks ago because I was really struggling here. Various things contributed to this and I don't need to get into that on the internet. Just know that I was having a really tough time and felt like it was time to ask Mom for help. She and I talked for a while and the conversation ended with her booking a flight to Orlando, arriving three days later. Let me just say, I felt like the sun was shining a little brighter when she said that. Two days later, I had a doctor's appointment regarding a wrist injury I have acquired over time. That appointment resulted in mandatory physical therapy and me temporarily being put on light duty at work. For the last two weeks, I've been standing in various entrances and exits, waving and handing out Mickey stickers. It has been a much needed break. I'm kind of nervous for it to end and me to return to my usual 6 days a week schedule. (Let me take this moment to say that I am LOVING Taylor Swift's new album.)

My mom coming to see me was such a great surprise. We were able to spend time in the parks as well as relaxing. It was a nice weekend to just do whatever we wanted to. Sometimes, all you really need is Mom to come hang out with you (and feed you lots of yummy foods). And saying goodbye was pretty easy because she's coming back at the end of this week. So... we will have seen each other 4 times in the last two months! No complaints here! It also helped me to see some ways I can deal with everything I'm going through. That's a work in progress.

This weekend was the twins' birthday! Naturally, we had to spend two days celebrating. The festivities began Friday with lunch at Trails End, which is at the Fort Wilderness resort. The food was great and the company exceptional. What really made everything special though, was the adorable, kind couple that paid for our meal. They told us to get whatever we wanted, dessert included. In that moment, not only was I incredibly humbled, but I felt extremely blessed to have such wonderful friends that I knew appreciated this gesture just as much as I did.

The afternoon was devoted to nail appointments and shopping adventures. That evening, we all went to dinner and then the girls of The Blue House walked around Downtown Disney and finished out the night with bowling at Splitsville! The good news about the bowling adventure is: we are all equally wonderful(terrible) at bowling, so we had a lot of fun! The next morning, we got up and went to Animal Kingdom to watch Festival of the Lion King and ride Expedition Everest and Dinosaur! We then made our way to Magic Kingdom to watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade! That night, the girls of The Blue House went to a concert at House of Blues. The performers were Sam Hunt, Charlie Worsham, and Kip Moore. I must say, we had so much fun! Each artist was fantastic on stage. We ended up making our way up toward the front of the crowd. I'm lucky to have such considerate friends. Whenever we are watching something, they always make sure I get to stand in the front since I'm smaller than most twelve year olds. We returned home, autographs in hand, and fell asleep with happy hearts. It truly was a wonderful and much needed weekend.

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.