Well, I am a few weeks into my second Disney College Program now and I have so many exciting announcements (make sure you follow my Instagram that's where I post most of them if you are interested @_dizzyworld_). And as I watch so many people go through the feelings and emotions I did almost a year ago when I left for my first Disney College program and moved cross country (at age 19 I might add) I thought it might be helpful to hear a little bit about my story and how it all worked out in the end.
My first program was not the first time I had ever lived away from home, but it was most definitely the first time I had ever lived so FAR from home. Previously I had always been a quick 45-minute drive from my parents and could easily get home to them if I needed to. So as I packed and prepared to move I had no initial feelings of fear or anxiety. I was just excited happy, I was moving to the happiest place on earth of course! My parents and I decided to drive my tiny little Honda Accord car all the way from Chicago to Orlando (about an 18-hour drive). And each day as we got closer and closer to Orlando I got more and more nervous. Dropping everything and moving to a completely new part of the country with nobody else you know is really scary.
When move-in day finally rolled around I spent the entire day fighting back tears and thinking about how terrified I was. I probably completely freaked my roommates out at the time, which only added to scariness. So many horrible thoughts ran through my head. What if I make no friends? What will happen if I get a flat tire or get hurt or need help? What if I am miserable? What if something happens at home and I can't get there quickly? Even after I said my goodbyes to my parents I was not ready to have them leave.
The next morning I started to have a freakout. I have never experienced anything like this before in my entire life and I haven't really experienced anything like it since. I think the main cause of it was the fact that my parents we flying home on that day. So I felt like I would officially be alone. I got in the car and called my best friend, who was back home in Chicago. I just kept saying I couldn't do it and I wanted to come home, he was reassuring but not enough for me at the time. I got called my parents in tears saying I needed to be driven back to Chicago and that I wanted to quit. I met up with them and just cried the whole day, I was completely terrified. My parents wouldn't let me quit, they told me I had to stay for a little bit at least and promised to come to visit me.
Its been a few years since that day and my mom has told me that was one of the hardest things she's ever had to do. But it was absolutely the right thing to do! Although I was scared, well more than scared, my first DCP was one of the best experiences of my life. I feel like I was able to learn and grow in so many different ways. The once in a lifetime experiences I was able to have were unimaginable and I wouldn't give them up for the world. I met my closest friends while I was there as well, people I still talk to on a daily basis who live all across the world. I have learned more about myself and about how to create and keep lasting friendships that turn into your family through the short five months I was away then from my entire twenty years.
If you get the chance to participate in the DCP, do it. Know you will work harder than you ever have in your entire life, you will get dirtier, you will be exhausted, you will be scared and sad and terrified at times. But you will love every minute of it, and once you leave you will always want to turn back the clock to the days when you spent every night watching fireworks with your best friends.
