Special Sneak Preview: (keep in mind this is very rough it was a "hmmm let's see if I'm even capable of this" experiment)
Be Flexible
I haven’t even arrived at Disney yet and I already know that I’m going to have to learn to relax and go with the flow. Back in February I was so excited for my phone interview, I had been counting the days. At 10:30 the night before my interview I got a call from Disney informing me that their computer system had crashed and my interview had to be rescheduled for the next week. I was almost heartbroken that the interview I was so excited about and had been waiting for would be put off yet another week, but somehow I managed to smile through it and agree to reschedule my interview in good spirits, something that my interviewer remembered the following week and she even mentioned how grateful she was that I was willing to be flexible about the whole thing.
When I first applied to the program I wanted more than anything to be an Attractions cast member. More specifically I wanted to be a Jungle Cruise skipper. Jungle Cruise is my favorite ride. It doesn’t have the speed and adrenaline rush of Rock’n’Rollercoaster or the technology of Mission: Space, but it is more full of Disney magic than any other ride I know. The thought that I could lead the ride I love so much was incredible. I would practice the Jungle Cruise jokes I knew (most of them) and watch videos of the ride on YouTube, I couldn’t wait to get to Disney and I was sure that I would be an Attractions cast member even before my phone interview.
Only a week or so after my phone interview I got an e-mail from Disney. I opened it quickly before my Winterguard (that flag spinny thing everyone makes fun of, yeah its that but without the band) practice not thinking anything about it. The first word I saw was “Congratulations!”. I didn’t believe it I wasn’t supposed to hear from Disney for weeks. I read it again and again just to be sure. There alone in my dorm room I started yelling and jumping up and down with excitement, not an easy task while sitting down on a twin bed with your legs crossed. So after standing back up, I proceeded to finally finish reading the e-mail. My heart sank almost as rapidly as it had leapt. “You have been accepted as a Merchandise cast member”. Merchandise, sure I had put it down on the application as a role I was willing to fill, but I never really believed it would happen. I tried to regain some of my original excitement but one thought kept running back through my mind crushing the many positive thoughts like Wile E. Coyote under an anvil: there goes Jungle Cruise. Would I even want to go for Merchandise? After awhile (ok about three minutes) I started telling people that I had made it into the program. When I was telling people I began to realize…. It’s still Disney of course I’m going. Then I started to get excited again as I slowly but surely realized wait Merchandise, Attractions whatever I get to work in Disney for four-ish months! I MAY GET TO MEET IMAGINEERS! That’s all it took I was back to jumping and screaming, this time with less painful results.
I started to get ready for practice thanking God the whole time that I even remembered I had to go. On my way to practice I met up with Ashley another of my friends who was on guard with me I told her and she was so excited for me, but then as we walked up to Carmichael Gym for practice chattering away about the program we ran into my best friend Keith who was on his way back from his own practice. When he saw me he ran up excitedly picking me up and celebrating my good news with me. At that moment in the middle of campus in full out celebration I realize how awesome this opportunity was, so who cared if it didn’t unfold exactly as I had planned. I’ve always been a planner I’ve known my major since I was still watching new episodes of Full House and have already started to plan for grad school not even a year into my undergrad, but this helped me see that sometimes for dreams to come true you have to look at what’s really important after all did I want to be a Jungle Cruise skipper, or did I want to get networking opportunities and be able to spend four months in my own personal “laughing place”? Sometimes you just have to let dreams unfold on their own and accept them as they come.
Hope you enjoyed reading, let me know what you think or if you want to contribute!
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