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!