Looks Like We Made It, Look How Far We've Come My Baby

So, amid all of my packing and what not, I have misplaced my journal. And I really wanted to write tonight, so you all get to share in the joy of my thoughts now. I know I've already posted two blogs about leaving Florida already, but I haven't left yet...so...there's still more to say.
Tomorrow is my last day of work. I'm excited beyond all reason, but I'm also feeling a little weird. I've really been looking forward to this program getting over, because it hasn't been all that I hoped for. However, I'm also sad at the same time, which is not something that anyone has heard from me yet. At work everyone has asked, "You're going home, are you excited or sad?" They were always responded to with an enthusiastic, "Yes! I'm so excited! I can't wait!" Which is the honest truth.
But it is the end of an era, or the end of a chapter in my life, which is always a bittersweet time. It keeps reminding me of the end of my freshman year at Snow College (and I know, I talk about that a lot, but once I get married, the milestone of going off to college won't be so big anymore, I'm sure haha). I remember being so so so excited to go home and live with my family again and see all of my old high school friends, and I also remember talking to my roommate Angie, who had become my best friend. She said, "How can you be excited, I don't want this to end!" And while I could agree with her that life was awesome then, I felt like I was wasting away without my family, and all I could think about was finally getting back home. Looking back on that time, I know that within a month, I was wishing I was back at Snow again with all of my friends who I had grown very attached to.  I still loved being with my family, it's just that I didn't realize how good I had it until I left.
So it is with being here. I mean, there are definitely more downsides to being here than just not seeing my family, as opposed to at Snow, where I think that was really the only downside. But as I think about leaving, I can't help but think about how weird it's going to be. My roommates, Natalie and Kylie, have been constant presences in my life for the past six months, and oh my goodness am I so very grateful for them. I don't know if I've ever laughed so much in my life as when I've been with them, and we've seen and done so much together since we've been here. I feel very blessed when I think that Heavenly Father placed me in this apartment to meet them. They mean more to me than I think I could ever tell them or put into words. I've been trying to focus on the getting to see my family part and not so much on the leaving those two part.
Then, there's my ward too, and the missionaries. I have never really worked with missionaries before, but Elder Mortensen and Elder Hanson have been a huge influence in my life. At the beginning of my program, when I thought the worst had happened, there they were, reminding me that Heavenly Father had prepared a way for me to come here and had specific reasons for doing so. They reminded me that instead of dwelling on what I didn't have here, I should instead focus on sharing the Gospel with those around me. While I don't think I was a very good or effective missionary, I was still grateful for their influence and their lessons, and the Spirit they brought to my apartment. I don't think they know what an impact they had on me, they were just trying to do their job. :)
I think about Heather and Katelyn and how glad I am that they were here too, and what a comfort they were to me, and a reminder of home. We didn't really have to say good bye, since they'll be around in Utah when I get back.
There was Skylar, Work Joe, Church Joe, Taylor the boy, Stephanie, Jamila, Shelly, Michael, Andrew, Sam the Gator Man, Brad, Toffer, Joey, Taylor the girl, Jessica, Evelyn, Justin P, Andres, Gary, Damien, Shannel, Danielle (yes, I do mean Danielle the coordinator), Desiree, Carlos, Martha, Jose, Jordan, Sybil, Daniel, Shelby, Amy, Sister Allen, Sister Staley, and whoever else I may have forgotten. I'm so glad to have met all these people, and whether it was their jokes, their smiles, their hugs, the numerous rides, willingness to talk to me on a slow day at work, or even just their friendship, they all helped me in some way. Some helped me to feel welcome at church and made the transition from a practically all-Mormon community, to a very small percentage of Mormons community much easier. Some helped pass the time at work, and made working worthwhile. Some came with me to the parks and helped me to really savor the experience of living in Disney World I will forever remember them there.
It's weird to think that I may never see some of these people again. I hope I do, though, even if it's just once. I better go to sleep now so I can last all day for my LAST DAY OF WORK tomorrow. *cue the epic music.

Good Things Are Coming My Way

So, I am leaving one week from today, and I am thrilled. I can't wait to get back and see my family and get back to school and everything. But I made up a list of a lot of the awesome things I got to see and do while I've been here. It's sort of a backwards bucket list, but even if I had made an actual bucket list, I don't think I would have thought of half of these things.

Went to the first-ever One More Disney Day Leap Day celebration at the Magic Kingdom
Got paid to watch fireworks and the Electrical Parade
Got paid to play with a puppet in Frontierland
Worked in Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, and the All-Star Resorts
Saw a Braves/Yankees Spring Training game
Became friends with people from all over the country and all over the world
Swam with sharks
Swam in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean
Held an alligator
Went to Harry Potter World (!)
Hand-painted part of an old-fashioned animation cel
Saw an alligator in the wild
Battled a cockroach in an epic duel to the death. I won. Make that two epic duels.
Watched the perimeter fireworks at Magic Kingdom on the 4th of July
Went with the sister missionaries when they taught a lesson
Went inside the Orlando, Florida temple
Auditioned both singing and dancing for Disney casting (didn't make it, but auditioned nonetheless)
Had my first Steak and Shake
Went to Star Wars Weekends
Was a model in a Disney photoshoot
Saw Wishes from a balcony in Disney's Contemporary Hotel, and from the beach at the Polynesian

See, I would have never done any of this if I had stayed all this time in Provo. It's been a hard six months, and I really really can't wait to get home, but I couldn't be more glad that I came, and met the people I met and did the things I did.

I came out here to experience new things, and that is exactly what I did. And I'm ready to go back and take on my life again, and take all of my disappointments and joys from this program with me. I feel as if I can look forward with more hope than ever, because even when things don't turn out the way you want or expect, life is still wonderful.

That's it, just one week to go!

The Real Magic

We've been talking about what we're most excited to return to when we finally go home. Families, clean kitchens, no cockroaches, better weather, and a normal schedule are among some of the main things we look forward to. Six months is a long time to live in Vista Way. Yes, that is literally my apartment complex.

Don't get me wrong, I am going to miss the heck out of my friends here--even though quite of few of them are moving back to Utah, and I'll actually get to see them. I've already cried to myself thinking of parting with my roommates, Kylie and Natalie, though. I would never have survived this program without them. 
My heart hurts to think of home. I know that Aurora and Colorado Springs are far from Durango, but they are so much closer to home than I am. I just want everything to be okay in Colorado again. My heart goes out to both the victims and survivors of the massacre, and also to those who are still dealing with all the fires and the aftermath of that this past summer.
Wherever I go, I will always call Colorado home. Even though I've lived in Utah pretty much since I graduated from high school, whenever someone here asks me where I'm from, I still tell them I'm from Colorado. The mountains, the trees, the streams, and all those wonderful people that I love are still there. Those days of building pirate ships, exploring, campouts, Mom's homemade pizza, riding around in Landon's Jeep, sleeping on the trampoline and watching the countless stars, building sets for plays, riding my horse, watching the trees turn red and gold just before Halloween, and having family scriptures while the cool summer night breeze poured in through the open windows are all part of my foundation, and who I am.
My life in Utah has also been wonderful, albeit a little lonely. But that's just a side effect of being an independent person. I can't wait to return, even though part of me dreads it a little to be honest. It's been kind of nice, actually, here in Florida, the dating scene for members of the church leaves a lot to be desired. I mean, I love my ward (or congregation), but there aren't many people to date. Which I think is mostly because the great majority of Disney College Program Participants (we call ourselves CP's), who are members of the church, are girls. But a break from the Provo scene was exactly what I wanted. I'd just been getting so tired of perfectly eligible guys never asking me or any other girls out. Seriously. If you are a returned missionary in Provo, and you are reading this, and you think I'm attractive, ask me out. Yeah, you. I'm calling you out right now. Ask me when I get back. You never know what might happen. And life is too short to be a weenie.
Aside from the dating scene, however, I am SO READY to come back. All I can think about is choir and getting back into school, and having a job that I enjoy, and being near my family and living with my sister! Up until last fall semester, I had been getting very dissatisfied with my life, and I complained a lot, wishing that I could actually do something more with my life, thinking that nothing I was doing was of any great value. So I had this grand idea that I would leave one way or the other come January, and the Disney College Program seemed like the most sensible option. Then suddenly life was going so well right before I left, and I almost didn't want to go. I know now that I made the right decision for so many reasons, and I'm grateful for the opportunity Heavenly Father gave me to grow. It was no coincidence that I chose to leave when I did, no coincidence who I met or where I worked. I may not know all the reasons still, but I know that there were many purposes for me being here, and some I may never fully understand, and some I feel I'm just beginning to grasp. But I have to go back to where my heart is calling. I see things in a different color now, having been here, working for Disney and meeting the people I've met.

I think the main lesson of the Disney College Program for me is realizing that what you've had all along is what was the real magic.

It'll be weird when these faces aren't omnipresent in my life anymore...