A Dream Vacation

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to come to Disney World with just your best friends?

Personally, I always wondered.

When I was stressed out in high school or at college, I would surf the vacation planning site trying to figure out where we could afford to stay, and what we'd eat, and when we could go. For some of those moments I really thought we could swing that kind of trip. Of course, between plane ticket costs and the inconsistent funds of young adults, I never found a winning combination. But I was always curious about how it would feel to share the most magical place on earth with the people that you hand picked to be a part of your life.

Well, I realized yesterday that now I know how it feels.

We may not have known it right away, but now, as I'm faced with the task of saying goodbye to my roommates and coworkers, I know for certain that they are some of my best friends. And I got to share Disney World with them.

We stayed in resorts together, we stayed out all night at the parks, we cried at Wishes and also we ignored Wishes to run to Big Thunder. We were there for the premier of the Festival of Fantasy parade, and we frequently cursed under our breath at the brightest traffic jam in Magic Kingdom-- The Main Street Electrical parade. We ate SO MUCH FOOD. We shamelessly threw money into Disney merchandise (#NoRagrets). Sometimes, like families do, we argued over what to do next. Sometimes we just napped on the Carousel of Progress and then went home. A lot of the time we had no money. Most of the time it didn't even matter, because we were penniless together.

You know, it's a sneaky thing this Disney College Program does. You show up all focused on getting your foot in the door, putting Disney on your resume, making connections, etc. and you don't necessarily realize at first that you are also about to meet some of the people you will treasure most in life. Now I'm sure you all assumed that you would make some friends. But did you think, on your way down here, that those people were going to be such significant figures in your life?

I didn't.

At least in college when you make great friends and have to go home for summer, a good 3/4 of the entire school will still be there when you come back. Here, we are blessed to meet people from all corners of the globe, and just as we are blessed, we are disheartened by the realization that when it's over, we might not see them "real soon".

That stated, if I could say anything to an incoming CP, it would be this:

There is only one thing in this program that is actually scary, and it is the day that you have to say goodbye to the people you meet here. I was afraid of so many things at the start: getting an apartment with bed bugs, sympathy barfing during a code-v cleanup, being broke, moving to a state where I had no relatives or friends, etc.None of it-absolutely none of it- was really so bad. The only thing that has been truly, gut-wrenching-ly awful, is saying goodbye to the people who weathered this unique Disney life with me. They made my days bright and my nights magical. Watching them leave is the pits.

It is also the most fulfilling heartbreak I think I've ever experienced.

They were worth melting for.