12.10.2011

What's around the riverbend

So, in the last couple weeks i have had some really tough decisions that i have had to make. Couple that with the fact that all of papers for the semester were due Thursday, I was deployed to another resort, and we had our winter formal on Monday, and very few other things were done, like cleaning my room and this blog. The cleaning will hopefully happen as soon as I'm done here. (hey, i have my priorities. :) )

Being here in Florida has done so much for me. I've grown as a person so much. I've become much more daring, more relaxed, not quite so stressed all the time. I feel like i have changed for the better in so many ways. It's been incredible. i came here hoping for that to happen, expecting it to happen, and willing to allow it to happen, and it did. i couldn't be happier about it. I've met some incredible people, and our stories together are not done yet. I have the most incredible managers at work and i don't want to work somewhere else. I've been put on the magical moments team and was recently put on another team at work, the camera cast, and only person was chosen from each department, and that was me. I have so much going for me here.


But (don't you hate that word?) I still have two classes left to finish at Grand Valley, and to answer the next question, no they cannot be taken online. It's not worth transferring to some school here for two classes, especially when they will probably add more classes for me to take anyway to complete their degree program. Besides that, my dream has been to have a degree from Grand Valley since as long as I can remember. That is really important to me. So, what do I do? Leave this place that absolutely love and these projects I've been selected for in order to finish school, or give up the dream of GV degree and probably go to school even longer?

January 6th I will be coming back to Grand Rapids. I've really struggled with this decision, but I do think it is the right thing to do. i have the option of staying on at yacht and beach club as seasonal, so I would still be a cast member and could come down during spring break or long weekends and work a few hours. Before i leave, i will be setting up a meet and greet with convention services through a manager i met about a week ago. We were talking about what i wanted to eventually get into and i told her meeting and event planning, and she gave me her number and said that she would love to set up a meet and greet with me and convention services because she thinks I'd be a great fit there. Me! She, having talked with me for less than an hour, thinks I'm good enough! I've never had someone say things like that or feel that way about me until I came here. Here, I'm good enough, just as I am. Back home i don't feel like i am good enough. i feel like i am constantly having to prove myself to everyone, my family, my friends, my church, my job, and even then I'm still not good enough.

I think that's another lesson I've learned here. I am good enough. Back home I feel like no one sees my potential even when I am busting my butt doing and being everything to everyone. Here, I don't have to work as hard to impress people- they see me for me. They love me for me. I'm worth it. Damn it, I'm good enough!


Coming home will be tough, but I will get through it. I always do. I will finish my classes and then hopefully be able to come back to Orlando once i graduate. At least that's the plan. Knowing that there is the option to come back makes this decision so much easier. It isn't all or nothing. I still need to find an internship back home, and that will be my mission this week (that and getting my christmas presents wrapped and shipped and my cards mailed- oh boy...). Coming home will help me though because i'll be able to save up some money, work on getting a car (anyone care to help me with that?) and get my debt paid off from the irresponsibleness of being young with a credit card (again, if anyone wants to help with that, I'm not too proud!). If i can get my debt paid off, which is going to be tough but i can do it, then I can move back to Orlando with only my student loan debt. I'm so glad to know that i can come back.


Home is going to be different though. Be forwarned: I am not the girl that left in August. I have become much more outspoken (believe it or not). i feel more comfortable in my own skin, which makes a huge difference. Don't expect to talk to the same passive Calli that just takes whatever people through at her and doesn't say anything back. I'm not her. i've learned to stand up for myself and say what i mean. I'm not going to be walked over anymore. I'm learning that "no" is a complete sentence. i feel like I'm more fun too, more willing to just go and do whatever, be silly. I hope that you can see the differences in me when i come home.


I'm not really looking forward to the next couple weeks. Christmas without my family will be hard. Saying goodbye to this place will be even harder. In the mean time, I'm going to enjoy this short time i have left to the fullest. i have to! Disney wasn't coined "the happiest place on earth" for no reason afterall.

11.24.2011

For these, I am truly thankful

This thanksgiving, i have so much to be thankful for. i almost don't even know where to start!
1. I am thankful for my mom and brother who have been so supportive of me and moving to Florida. They supported me even when everyone else thought I was crazy.
2. i am thankful for my family. It's so weird not being with them this thanksgiving, and i will definitely miss family dinner and all our interesting, and completely inappropriate, dinner conversations.
3. i am thankful for my wonderful job that i enjoy doing every day and that has led to more opportunities than I thought possible with the magical moments team I was put on.
4. i am thankful for my managers who are simply the best. i got really lucky.
5. i am thankful for my amazing fellow cast members who i love to see every day at work and who make me laugh all the time. Again, I got really lucky.
6. i am thankful to live in Florida and being able to go to Disneyworld whenever i want. :)
7. i am thankful to have 4 amazing roommates who all get along and who I want to hang out with. Not everyone likes their roommates and mine have become my family here.
8. i am thankful for my friends back home who have been supportive of my move here.
9. i am thankful for my professor who has been so patient with me and getting my assignments turned in much later than the original due dates. :)
10. i am thankful for the chance to prove people wrong. i know that one sounds kind of mean, but i know some people who read this blog who were not supportive of me when i first applied to this program and who didn't think I would stay. I am glad that i was strong enough to prove those people wrong.

I could probably go on and on of things i am thankful for today, but those are my top choices.
I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving and enjoys the time spent with friends and family.

11.22.2011

we interrupt this broadcast...

I know I've been slacking on blogging lately, but things are crazy busy here in good old Orlando.

I promise to catch up soon.

11.12.2011

Mickey's very merry christmas party

So, last night I went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party at the Magic Kingdom. Holy Cow! It was so amazing! i had the absolute best time ever. I think the pictures do most of the talking here, so i won't add many words. i have them all posted on my facebook, so either friend me or check them out if we're already friends. (and if we aren't, what the heck are you waiting for? :) )










Dopey went MIA for some reason during some photos- feel free to call me the 8th dwarf- Clumsy. :)



Yay! I finally got my picture with Minnie and Mickey!



Isn't it gorgeous?! and it's a thousand times prettier than even the pictures show.



This is my friend Julie who was visiting for a week who i went to the party with. She was a CP as well, and still works for Disney.



Bet you can't guess what will probably happen with this picture. :)



Brilliant!




Christmas is in the air- can you feel it?

11.10.2011

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!













Sorry for a short and sweet post today, but I'm having a bad pain day and just not feeling that great. However, I am super excited because Christmas is in full swing here at Disney. Tomorrow night i am going to Mickey's Christmas party with a friend from school who is here visiting and i cannot wait! Trust me, there will be tons more pictures in the next few days!







10.19.2011

Comments

So, aparently there are a lot of people reading my blog that i had no idea about.

Thanks for reading this! I'm so glad you're here!

I know that there has been issues with leaving comments, but I think i may have fixed it. Feel free to give it a try and see if it works. i sure hope it does- I don't think I've ever had a comment on my blog! I'd love to hear who is reading this and what you think. i really haven't heard from anyone much since I've been in Florida. Start sending cards people! Just kidding- unless you want to. i love getting mail too! :)

10.18.2011

Soul surfer

So, this blog has nothing to do with Disney, but I feel like i have to say something.
I'm sitting in my apartment right now watching Soul Surfer with my roommates, waiting for my phone interview with Disney for my professional internship. We're about half way through the movie, and I've had tears in my eyes for at least the last 20 minutes.

It's very strange to watch this movie, and i know that my experiences are not in any way the sames as Bethany Hamilton's, but i can't help but feel so much of what she's feeling. There's a scene in the movie where she is at the grocery store and there is a little girl in a cart with her mom and she says, "mommy, what happened to that girls arm?" I completely lost it there and when she asks Carrie Underwood's character how her loosing her arm is a part of God's plan. I had many kids ask their parents the same question about my legs and asked that same question countless times to my family, my friends at church, and God. I'm watching this almost feeling like I'm watching myself and it hurts.

People have told me throughout my ordeal and continue to tell me how strong i am, but i am not nearly as strong as Bethany Hamilton is portrayed in this movie. I know that she had hard days too, and that this movie is not showing everything, because the truth is, any handicap is so much more than what can be put in just a couple hours by a movie director. Everything she says has been something that I've said numerous times. She kept her faith stronger than i ever did. Part of me wishes this movie had come out while i was dealing with my ordeal. Maybe i wouldn't hurt as much as i still do now, inside.

If you ever had a moment where you wondered what i felt like, watch this movie. This is my story too, even if i wasn't attacked by a shark while surfing and i still have my limbs. The story is the same, the pain is the same, and the emotions are the same. Soul Surfer is an incredible movie that i would highly recommend to everyone I meet. If you know someone with a disability or who has dealt with a handicap, this movie will be very enlightening for you.