The First Big Leap

Today, I moved all of my belongings from my dorm room, my dear beloved room on the 2S, into boxes, bags, piles, storage units, and a mini van and am headed home from college. Looking back, three months ago when I moved allllll of this stuff in, I had no idea that I would be moving it all out again so soon. It just goes to show that dreams come a knocking and you go when the opportunity presents itself. I've cried. I will cry again - as many headaches and heartaches I had over being an RA, I loved it. I love my staff, my opportunites, the chance to make a difference. I learned a lot about myself as an authority figure and I learned a lot about people. Leaving was a bigger step than I'd anticipated, and it is just one of many I will be taking in the next few weeks. Deep breaths, lots of love, and a little bit of pixie dust and I'll do more than just fly, I'll soar.

Disney Trivia - Q: In The Sword in the Stone, what does Merlin call "the greatest force on earth"?
A: Love.

I can relate.

When Will My Life Begin?

Alas, I have had a bit of a hiatus from my dear blog - not to frolic fancy free, but working diligently to pass my classes and excel in everything that I do, really. I have performed in a one act, in a voice recital, in an improv show, and in a concert, and all somehow influenced by my recent and premier case of strep throat. It's okay, better here than at Disney. And now that the snow's blowing deeper and here I am, all of my final tests done with only two papers, a performance, and a piano lesson in front of me, I'm feeling pretty good about this - the last week of my formal education as a sophomore...perhaps forever? Amazing. Now, you know, I just have to pack my entire room, finish Christmas shopping, attend several Christmas galas, and just generally be awesome. But I can do that. You know why? Because I am a competent and qualified individual with a big heart and big dreams and there is nothing that can keep me down. Nothing at all.

Fun Disney fact - The songs When Will My Life Begin (reprise 1) and part of Mother Knows Best from the recent Disney film, Tangled, were cut from the final film, but are still on the available soundtrack. And. I. Love. Them.

11,324

Another day here in delightful Valpo, getting all my ducks gathered and making sure I'll be ready when it's Disney time. I had a couple of realizations today. One: it was 43 degrees outside here, last time I checked. Checking up with the information at Disney, I realized that they don't project it being colder than 50 degrees...even in January when I'm there. When I'm in Florida, I'll never be colder than I am right now. Kind of surreal. Two: on the note of surrealism, I printed off a packet of paper upon which to sign my life away (it felt like I was applying for college again, the number of times I had to write out my social security number) but I finally wrote out the dates I'll be gone. 01/19/2011-08/05/2011. I hadn't written it out like that yet, but now that I have - uh, holy wow - I'm going to be gone for a LONG time. It got a lot more real as I wrote out those numbers (to the point of handshaking, put down the pen so your paperwork doesn't look crappy. Funnily enough, my immediate association was Martin Luther and his shaking hands at his first mass - this is what I get for taking a new members class and studing the reformation in my Christian Tradition at the same time.)

Right. So, that was my interesting information for the day. I'm going to get out of the library now, as we've just crossed the four hour mark. I watched the sun leave earlier...sigh...I remember daylight, vaguely. It'll be nice to be outside come January.

Oh, and 11,324? Number of those little triangle tiles on the Epcot ball. Legit, I know. Plus, because it's got an interior system of drainage that ball'll never drip or drop water on you. The  triangles funnel it inside and it totes itself off somewhere else to be dumped. Pretty neat stuff.

WDW College Program and Becca Joy Shelor are in a relationship.

It's official, kids! I've signed my life away, ponied up for the initial deposit, and have my dates. Ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars - from 19 January until 5 August Becca Joy Shelor and WDW College Program will be in a relationship. A close, tight, wonderfully intermingled and inseparable relationship. I'm legitimately thrilled wayyyy more every day. Better still, I got everything squared away with the University so I'll be able to go back to college after Disney. Yay semi-affordable education!

So, as I finished up my homework and am now sitting in the school library on a Friday night (I know, cool, right?) studying up on my Disney Trivia I have some information to share!

1. Did you know that there are 5 cars in each Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover train? It's true. Never more, never less.
2. Forgotten princesses include Kida (Atlantis), Eilonwy (The Black Cauldron), Melody (The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea) Mei, Ting-Ting, and Su (Mulan 2), Tiger Lily (Peter Pan - take that, pixie...you're ousted by a legitimate princess!), Aquata, Andrina, Attina, Adella, Arista and Alana (The Little Mermaid...much as I love Ariel, the rest of her family's got a bum deal.) and, to my surprise, Meg (Hercules) is a bonafide princess. Google her mythology...even if you disregard the ones where she's princess of Thebes, she does marry Hercules - prince of the gods? Yea. She's legit. Who knew? Lookit all those princesses! It's insane.
3. You know you're a Disney fanatic if:
- you have the urge to present your newborn high up on a rock
- if you can't exit a vehicle, EVER, without gathering up all of your personal belongings and taking small children by the hand
- if you wake up every morning singing, "there's a big bright beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day!" and your bedroom rotates to connect to the bathroom
- if the neighborhood children won't let you play the Disney Trivia game with them because you yell out the answers to everyone else's questions
- if the rooms in your home are identified by lands - Living Land, Dining Land, Bath Land, Sleep Land, etc
- if you call Disney just to have them put you on hold to enjoy a taste of Disney hold music

Thinkin'....about thinkin'.

I feel very justified in the fact that my playlist on Pandora, on my ipod, and in my head has been very Disney (I mean, more than usual) and it's interesting to see what I'm drawn to. Right now, I cannot get enough of A Greater Treasure Than A Friend from Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure. Maybe I'm sentimental. I mean, certainly I am sentimental, but maybe I'm a little sappy. I am excited, over the moon about my internship I am very aware of what it will cost. I know it won't be the easiest transition ever, but that's okay. It's going to take  a lot of work, but this is really good for me and I'll just have to manage everything else.

Did you know? A Cast Member will never say, "I don't know." They will either have an answer or they will very promptly find one. Test it? Yes.

Placement!

Alrighty - I am sticking with Main Enterance Operations (MEO, as the cool kids call it). There are a lot more boxes to check before I'm Disney bound, but a day at a time is my current philosophy.

I feel like I should be flaunting my smarts through this process, so I'm thinking a Disney fact with each entry is in order. I owe two as I did not have a fact in my last post.
1. Disney owns Desperate Housewives. There's some mediary steps between those, like, Disney is the big umbrella parent company,but still...Wisteria Lane is not what I usually associate with the Mouse...
2. The Disney Princess franchise didn't start until 2000...so other girls my age who wonder why your Mom's didn't dress you up and deck you out in princess couture, don't begrudge them - it didn't exist when we were small and adorable (or smaller and more adorable, in my case).

A dream is a wish your heart makes

Well, today, the 19th of October, as I turn nineteen and a half, I have the first step in my hands. I am going to Disney World in January as a participant in their college program. I have literally never been more excited. I've been dreaming about being a Disney princess since I was little, and actively planning for it since the fourth grade. And now, now I have the chance. It's coming true. I'm in love and over the moon enthusiastic about this whole experience!