DCP ROUND 2

I am so happy and excited to announce that I am coming home for another college program! Just a few hours after my last post I received my Congratulations email!  I'm accepted for Fall Advantage Merchandise, so I will be moving down at the end of May and start earning my ears again in the first week of June. Now the true waiting game begins!

Never lose hope people! Your acceptance will come when you least expect it. 

Waiting In Progress

It's been about a month since my Disney College Program phone interview, and I haven't heard anything. Along with the CP, I applied to a few Professional Internships because I want to start a career with the company. The wait is slowly driving me crazy, but recently I've been trying to accept the fact that it's totally okay to not know anything at this point. I know there's plenty of people also in my position, and some might be first time applicants to the program. My advice for anyone in the same situation is to relax and stop checking your email/ dashboard every five minutes because it will only make things worse in your head. This is something we want so bad, but we have already done our best with the phone interview and the only thing we can do right now is wait. As much as I want to control everything, this is something that is out of my hands. Thankfully, I haven't received the dreaded, "pending" email from Disney. This email basically says that Disney hasn't made a decision yet, but your status is pending a final decision. It doesn't nesecarily mean that you won't get accepted, but it typically results in a No Longer In Consideration (NLIC).
On a final note, it's okay to still be in progress. It's also okay that other people are getting accepted before you. There is no pattern by names, roles, ages, etc. that Disney follows. Everything happens for a reason, and there's only a few weeks left until they have to give us a final decision.

"Why worry? If you've done the very best you can, worrying won't make it any better."

-Walt Disney

Alumni Phone Interview

This morning I had my phone interview for potentially my 2nd  Disney College Program! I was probably just as nervous as I was when applying two years ago, but this interview was completely different. Being an alumni means that Disney already knows a little about you. They know you have what it takes to successfully complete the college program, and what it means to be a cast member. So instead of asking me questions based on who I am as an employee, the questions were more tailored to how my previous program went, what I would do differently, and why I want to come back.
My interview lasted about 20 minutes long and I was asked at least one question for about 7 different roles, including my previous Character Performer role. I was also asked some basic questions about previous work experience outside of Disney.
If anyone is applying for the first time and looking for tips regarding the interview, check out my blog post from my first interview, DCP Phone Interview and Tips.
Good luck to everyone applying! Let the waiting game begin.

Disney College Program and Professional Internships

   Now that the applications are out, I am finally ready to announce that I am applying for a second Disney College Program(DCP) and some of the Professional Internships(PI) throughout the company. I've put a lot of thought into it, and I have decided that I really want to go back and make magic for people all over the world. I had such a great experience during my last program and I will be graduating in May, so this feels like the perfect time to pick up everything and move to a new state for good! So of course, I will be detailing my experience throughout the application process here.

   The PI applications have been trickling in over the last few weeks and the DCP application dropped on 1.23. I was very surprised with how fast everything went. I sent in my initial application yesterday and about 1 hour later I was asked to complete the Web-based interview(WBI). These questions were very similar to the ones I was asked last time around. They were focused on me and how I work with other people, my energy level throughout the day, how positive I am, etc. As soon as I completed the WBI, I was asked to schedule a phone interview! So in less than a week I will be talking with a recruiter and interviewing for another internship with Walt Disney World! I'm incredibly excited to possibly go on this adventure again. My fingers are still crossed for the PIs, but I will be happy just working for the company again. Good luck to everyone else applying! I am always open for questions. 

A Very Pensive Snowfall

     Today I woke up to the highly anticipated first snowfall of the year. It's not very normal for it to take this long to snow in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but I wasn't complaining about the lack off winter weather. Recently I've been having trouble organizing my thoughts, so with today, the perfect stay inside and write day, all of these thoughts are just itching to get out. I have so many ideas on what I want to write about, both fiction and creative non-fiction. I'm really good about writing down every story idea the second I think of it, but now I feel like I have too many projects I want to work immediately.

     I've been working a lot with short stories told from the view point of one particular character I created this semester in my Fiction Workshop class. Some of them are shorter and others much longer. I'm actually pretty proud of some of them so now I'm considering compiling them all together in a book of short stories.

     Last week I woke up from a really intense dream that sparked one of the coolest and most promising fictional novel ideas yet. So naturally, this has been consuming my thoughts and sort of pushing other ideas out of the way.

     I've also been considering starting a new blog from the persona of a fictional character. They'd analyze different aspects of what's happening in the world and give their opinion on it like a journal or diary entry. So much is going on that I know I wouldn't run out of things to talk about. I've also considered just making it a part of this blog, but I want it to be clear that it's another person's thoughts, not my own.

     On top of everything, finals are just two weeks away and I need to be focused on that before I can delve deeper into any of these ideas, or the others I haven't even mentioned yet. It's important for me to finish this semester strong so I can graduate in May and hopefully go back to working for the mouse. At least I now have a week off of school and can sit inside my warm home with a fresh cup of coffee, letting my pent-up thoughts escape just like the first snowflakes of this season.

Returning

I'm back.

After an unexplained leave of absence from this blog, I've been persuaded to return and continue the descriptions of my adventures. Unsure of what exactly is to come, I hope you will enjoy my ranting and tale telling. Let the journey begin!

What I Learned In 2015

2015 was an experience in itself. I started the year with a lot of change. I finished my internship with Disney and moved back home to Michigan from sunny Florida. I started pursuing a degree at a new school and quickly realized that was not the place I was meant to be. I turned the awkward age of 20. Old enough to make your own decisions, but still too young to be trusted that you'll make the right ones. Half way through the year I started calling a new city "home". I met new, interesting people, switched majors, and finally started to realize what I wanted to do with my life. Between work, school and a social life, I was constantly moving. There was always something happening, but for some reason I had never felt so lonely in my life. I quickly learned what depression is and how it can come in drowning waves when you least expect it. This experience only opened my eyes to how important self fulfillment is.
2015 was a special year to say the least. A lot changed and similarly so did I. I just have to remember that everything happens for a reason.
What I learned in 2015:

1. I am so much stronger than I thought I was.
2. What other people think of me doesn't define me.
3. I decide who I am and what I want my life to be.
4. Surround yourself with good people, because we feed off of each others energies and emotions.
5. If you want something bad enough, you make it happen.
6. Not everyone is going to like you, and that's okay. 
7. Trust your gut.
8. Family is everything. (Friends can be family too) 
9. At the end of the day, you have to do what makes you happy.

Overall, I grew up a lot. I learned more about myself in this year than I had ever known before. I'm proud of who I am and where I'm going. Although change can be scary, I'm thankful for what I learned because of it.