The future is a scary thing. In fact, we have no idea how big or long our future really is. We also have no idea what exactly our futures entail. Of course, we may have some hopes and dreams, but other than that, life can always take a turn that we never excepted coming. The future is something we can never one hundred percent plan for and maybe that is part of what makes it so scary. For me, this past year has never stopped throwing me curve balls. From family changes to new opportunities, I have learned that planning the future is silly because God ALWAYS has another, and usually better, plan.
So, since the reason I decided to start this blog was due to the fact that I want to share my Disney College Program experiences with those who are interested, I guess I should get to how the opportunity came my way in the first place. Well, I knew that the program existed, but I never actually saw myself actually doing it. I have a couple friends who did the program and loved it, which is great for them, bur for me, I never saw that it would fit in anywhere with my schedule. You see, I am a Biology major with hopes of going to medical school, and this program never seemed to fit into what I thought I should be doing in order to prepare for that path.
One morning, February 11th of this year to be exact, I received an email notifying me that applications for the 2014 Fall/Fall advantage programs were being accepted. I had class at 9am and I thought to myself, "what the heck, I should just see what happens." So within the minute, I was online filling out my information. I submitted my application before I went to breakfast and even had spare time to talk to my roommate about it. I did not put much thought into the application. I knew it would be awesome and an amazing opportunity, but I had no intentions of actually getting accepted. Low and behold, within the next hour, I received an email prompting me to complete the web based interview. I waited until February 13th, not because I wasn't stoked, but because I knew that it would take awhile and I wanted to give the process my undivided attention. Once I submitted the web based interview, I was almost immediately invited to schedule a date and time for my phone interview. To me, it felt like a dream, almost as if I was just going through the motions.
February 26th rolled around and because I had been focused on school and my classes, I hadn't really put much thought into my interview. I did not research or practice or prepare like I should have. All I knew was that they were going to ask me why I was interested in doing the Disney College Program and that answer was still jumbled in my mind. Needless to say, I was jumping into the interview head first. My phone showed that the time was 4:55 when it began ringing. Freaking out, I jumped off my bed, answered, and began pacing my dorm room. For some reason, I could not sit still and I probably sounded out of breath the whole time because of it. By the time the phone interview was over, I felt pretty good about it. I answered each question honestly and made sure to smile the whole time. My interviewer, along with the follow up email, told me that I would most likely hear back in two to three weeks. This time period seemed perfect to me because I would have more time to think through exactly what I wanted, since I had not really done that up to this point at all.
Every Saturday morning around nine, I used to get together with three friends for something we call accountability group. We were going through a book called Captivating, but we mostly just ended up talking about our lives. March 1st, three days after my phone interview, I was talking to the girls about the Disney College Program and what the process looked like up to that point. I was discussing my options with them and the reality that it is a tough program to get into. Later on, when we moved on to a different subject, I looked at my phone, saw I had an email, and opened it. Right away, all I could see was the word congratulations. I had to do a double take. WHAT!? Three days later!? I was not supposed to hear back for two to three weeks, or so I thought. I honestly had no idea what to think. I mean, I did not think I would even have to think about what would happen if I go accepted so soon after my interview and since I only had seven days to make my decision, I had some serious decision making to do.
After a lot of thinking and talking with my family, I officially accepted my offer at Walt Disney World with the Merchandise role on March 6, 2014.
I am moving to Florida from Arizona. I need to be there in 58 days. Holy moly.
I never thought this opportunity was going to come my way and I could not be more excited, and also completely scared, about it. I cannot wait to get there and make memories that will be with me forever.
