Nowhere

I am a month overdue on uploading those spring break pictures. Attempt number one failed after Facebook deleted the album I spent two hours uploading. I will try again soon, I promise! And a blog post will accompany the upload!

In the meantime, I have been trying to enjoy non-school life. Which, as it turns out, simply means I can work 12 hours a day instead of 8. Lovely! And I have two weeks to pack for Florida (by the way, I'm moving to Florida for the summer. Forgot to mention that. For a full recap of my acceptance to the summer alumni program at Walt Disney World, visit my other blog HERE). And I fly out to Seattle tomorrow. I should probably start packing for that, too... But as you can see, I am more busy post-finals than when I was right in the midst of all the exams.

In other news, I have been pondering the word "nowhere" as of late. Although some may say that my blog title, All Roads Lead To Nowhere, is grammatically incorrect, I say otherwise. Nowhere, I would tell them, is not simply a state of inexistence, but a destination. For example, you see your roommate dressed up and walking out the front door.

"Where are you going?" you ask.
"Oh, nowhere," they reply, oftentimes with an anxious grin on their face.

Of course, they are going somewhere. But perhaps they are completely unaware of their final destination. Maybe that is the whole point of going "nowhere." You are not bound to a single plan, but are leaving your fate completely up to chance. Oh, the possibilities! Oh, the adventure!

This is why that is my final destination. It is the place that all the roads, at least the ones that matter most, lead.

Nowhere.

Hello, Internet!

It's been three long months, but I am finally sitting comfortably in front of my computer screen once again. My adventures at Walt Disney World have sadly come to an end, and I have returned to BYU for the semester. It has definitely been a struggle, going from the happiest place on earth to a world of homework, exams, and more homework. However, I am confident that I will be able to cope with this change as long as I have Hulu, Netflix, and an huge supply of hot cocoa and coffee at my disposal (which I do)! If you are dying to hear more about my time working for Disney over the last five months, visit my Disney College Program blog HERE. On that blog, I will reflect on my program, detail my various adventures, and provide information about the DCP in Walt Disney World. On this blog, I don't plan on talking about the program as extensively, but I will provide a brief reflection on the program and how I am holding up at the moment. Now, with that said...

The Disney College Program was the greatest experience of my life and I absolutely do not, in any way, regret picking up and moving to Florida for a semester. 

It doesn't get any simpler than that. I spent every waking moment surrounded by my coworkers. To some of you reading this, you may think that sounds like a nightmare, but I assure you that it wasn't! It didn't take long at all for those people I worked with to become my family. When we were working at Pinocchio's Village Haus (PVH), would go out for dinner after work, or spend our days off in the parks together, I was having the time of my life. Heck, we even got together and had thanksgiving dinner on the apartment floor (once we all got off work, of course...)! We went out at night all the time, traveled to New York, and spent every bit of money we made at Disney - together. 

I cannot tell you how hard it is to go from that, to nothing. No PVH. No Disney Parks. No Universal Studios. No beaches. No clubs. No one.

Though the BYU campus is crowded and bustling with chatting students, there are moments when everything is quiet, everything is calm. And I am alone. In those moments, I think about the Magic Kingdom filled to capacity at almost 100,000 people. I think about working 14 hour shifts during the holiday season. I think about the music pounding in my ears at House of Blues. I think about the fireworks going off every night like clockwork.

And all too soon, I am pulled back down to earth as my phone notifies me that I have an essay due tomorrow and two exams next week. Right now, this is my reality.

But one day, I will go back.

Emotions, Emotions

I am long overdue for a post about my Florida adventures, but this one is going to be more of a type-until-I-figure-out-my-emotional-problems post. So feel free to scroll on past this if you so desire. Headphones are in, All Time Low is playing in my ear, and I have a half hour until I leave for work. Let's do this.

The past few weeks have been amazing! I love experiencing new things, and I can definitely say that I have accomplished that. The Disney College Program is a very different environment than that of BYU, which has always made me seem like I was in a giant bubble, cut off from the "real world". I've had a good time, and I've constantly been surrounded by my friends down here. Honestly, sitting in my room here blogging is the most alone time I've gotten in a long time. And it barely counts as alone time because my roommate is sitting on her bed across the room. Honestly, I think I'm scared to have some real alone time. Being around people for two or three weeks straight, day and night, has allowed me to push aside and successfully ignore problems at home, missing all my friends, and increasingly frequent issues concerning my anxiety and depression. How am I going to feel when I don't have anyone or anything to distract me from all of this? I'm not even completely alone and I'm starting to feel it. I'm just glad that, for now, I have a great group of friends to distract me from all of this.

But I think that's enough emotional vomit for one sitting. You all have a lovely day, and I can promise you that my next post will be filled with smiles and adventures!

#20 - Go to Walt Disney World

They say it's the happiest place on earth, but I used to only imagine fanny packs, sweaty parents, and spoiled children. Of course I watched my share of Disney movies as a child, but I was never "raised on Disney", I guess you could say. Plus, I knew all my money would be going toward college, so I never raised my hopes about going to Disneyland or Walt Disney World.

Then the Disney College Program came along - an opportunity where I can advance my education, work, and enjoy the parks here in Orlando! After a few days of check-in and training, I finally had my orientation yesterday, which was technically my first day of work. You know what that means?! We got our park passes, so today we hit up Magic Kingdom!

I didn't get to the park until a bit after noon, but I was able to ride the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Roller coasters are definitely my thing, so Space Mountain is currently my favorite attraction. I was also able to experience the infamous jumbo turkey leg and pineapple dole whip. I wasn't able to finish the turkey leg, but I'm sure the caloric intake was still ridiculous.

But my views of the Disney parks have definitely changed. The experience there truly is magical, and I couldn't help but smile the entire time! It is definitely something that takes time in order to have the full experience, which is why tomorrow night after work, we're hitting up Hollywood Studios!

This is where I'll be working for the next four months!

To read more about my Disney College Program, visit my secondary blog HERE.

#16 - Taste Of Edmonds

Last Friday, my friend Dezi and I went to the Taste of Edmonds. Ever since 1983, the city of Edmonds has been hosting this popular festival. There are tons of food booths, live music, activities, and vendors. I can remember going to this festival as a kid, so there were many deja vu moments. I indulged in a snow cone and a chocolate-sprinkle coated ice cream bar. Mmmm! We also hit up the Washington Lottery booth to try our luck on a few scratch tickets. There were no winners, but that's gambling for ya! Although Dez seemed to enjoy scratching the ticket until there was nothing left to scratch, so she was content! Because I'm going to be out of state for the next few years, I may not be able to go to the Taste of Edmonds anytime soon, so I'm glad I was able to make the most of this day!

By the way, I am officially living in Orlando, Florida as of this morning! If you'd like to read more about this, visit my Disney College Program blog HERE!

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#15 - Do A YouTube Challenge

A YouTube challenge is a simple game that vloggers do with friends - in this case, the baby food challenge! All you need is a blindfold and an assortment of baby food. It works best if half the flavors are good and the other half, not as pleasant. Add some challenge to the game by including a baby food that contains multiple foods! Dez and I referred to this type as "a meal". One person is blindfolded while the other feeds them a spoon full of baby food. They then proceed to guess what flavor(s) it is. See, simple! This is also a fun game to play with friends considering baby food is very inexpensive.

Dez and I had 12 different jars of baby food and chose from them at random as we progressed through the game. Lucky me, I got stuck with a few of meat flavors while Dez's gag reflex got a good workout. To watch us do the entire challenge, click HERE!

And an update on my travel adventures: I am currently at the SeaTac airport in Seattle. My flight to Miami, originally scheduled to depart at 9:30, has been delayed nearly two hours. Luckily, I am a pretty patient person, and it gave me time to do a quick blog update! I will be sure to post again once I am safely in my hotel in Orlando tomorrow afternoon.

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Lake Serene

Here we go, hike number two! This one was around 8.5 miles round trip and had a 2500 ft elevation gain. I really enjoyed this hike because about three miles in you arrive at Bridal Veil Falls, pictured to the right. Then you continue the rest of the way until you reach Lake Serene. To be honest, the hike from the falls to the lake was absolutely grueling. There were dozens of sets of stairs to climb, and my legs did not appreciate the quick elevation gain. However, the view was worth it, as always. I think the best part about hiking is when you can just sit down at your destination and eat your lunch - one of the most rewarding feelings. That sounds totally lame, but if you are a hiker, you understand what I mean.

I'm very excited to finally have plans for the Fourth of July! Me and a group of friends are trekking over to Eastern Washington for the weekend. I'm stoked, this should be quite the adventure! Especially considering I haven't vacationed in Eastern Washington for many, many years.

In the meantime, go ahead and check out my secondary blog, All Roads Lead To Disney! I will be moving to Florida next month (whoa!), and will be posting updates every once and awhile on this blog, as it relates to the Disney College Program. And here are some more shots from the Lake Serene hike:

 

 

 

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All Roads Lead to Disney!

To all my avid readers,

I have officially created a spin-off blog, All Roads Lead To Disney!, that will detail my adventures in the Disney College Program. I have already re-posted all my DCP related posts from this blog onto that blog. And that's all that's on there right now, so it's not very exciting yet. Honestly, I probably won't post very much in that blog over the next few months, but as August draws near, I will definitely start posting more frequently! Until then, all my DCP-related posts will be on that blog, so tune in every once and awhile to see what I have to say as I prepare for the best time of my life! I can only hope that these next five months fly by. I will also post a link to this new blog on one of the pages, as indicated by the helpful tabs above.

Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust,

Kendra

DISNEY WORLD, HERE I COME!!

I have never written two posts in one day, UNTIL NOW!! Why, you may ask? Because I have been accepted into the Fall 2013 Disney College Program in Walt Disney World!

 

Let me tell you how it happened:

It all started in Psych 301 (mmmm...statistics). I let my professor know that I had to leave class a little early (there was an ultimate frisbee game going on, but I didn't tell him that part). The class runs from 4:30pm to 6:20pm, and I had planned on leaving around 5:45pm. At about 5:00, we start getting into multiple regression. Pftt, I thought, I already know all this. Time to enter the world wide web.

BAM! Email from Disney. First word, "Congratulations." I start hyperventilating and want to scream, but I remember where I am. I want to run out and call everyone I know, but it's the middle of class! Then I remember I already asked to leave class early. Mwaha! So I slipped out at 5:15 and called my mommy, and yelled, and ran home, and yelled some more!

I will be in Orlando from August 12th, 2013 through January 2nd, 2014 and will be working Quick Service Food and Beverage.

I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!

Lady in Waiting

After a week of avoiding writing this post, I knew it was going to happen eventually. So here it goes.

A mere two days after my interview, last Friday, I heard back from Disney. No, I didn't get accepted. No, I didn't get rejected. Pended. This pretty much means that I am in the same place as I was directly after my interview - thrown back into the waiting game. The final verdict will be given sometime between now and April 19th.

I will admit, I was really disappointed by this news and habitually retreated to my bed to sleep the day away. Finally, though, I pulled myself together and told myself that this isn't as bad as it seems. It's not like it was a rejection. So I'll just have to wait it out a little longer, no big deal. For now, I'll just focus on school and enjoy being able to sleep in until noon every day now that I quit my job!

You always have to look on the bright side!

Oh! And I got around to watching a couple of the movies on my "Obsession" post. Total Recall, this one is definitely for all you guys out there, and I actually really enjoyed it myself! Warm Bodies, on the other hand more heavily emphasizes the romance. But don't turn away now, guys. You will definitely get your fill of violence, blood, and zombies in this movie!

Tick Tock!

Well, I should be doing the 5 online quizzes I have due by 10pm tonight, but I can't even concentrate long enough to do that at the moment! I had my phone interview earlier this afternoon for the DCP, and honestly, it went great! My interviewer was very upbeat and cheerful, I was able to make her laugh quite a few times, and I answered all of the questions she threw at me without missing a beat! I'm surprised that I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. The only show of nerves was when my phone rang and I thought something along the lines of, "Holy crap, is this actually happening? Now?!" But luckily I was able to compose myself in record time!

Usually the questions they ask can allude to the role they are interested in placing you in, but I could not figure it out! She asked me about attractions, food & beverage, main gate, custodial, hopper. And in all honesty, I would be happy with any of these roles!

And now, let the wait begin. Two weeks, I can do it. Though, I've heard of some people hearing back in 4 days, and some in 20 days. The uncertainty is going to be the death of me! Maybe I'll limit how frequently I check my email for a response. Once a day? Twice? Twice, it is.

Of course, being accepted would be the ideal outcome, but when it comes down to it, I am only a freshman and I did only find out about and apply to this program less than a week ago. If it's a no-go for DCP fall, there is always next year!

Obsession

So lately, I've been reading tons of threads and watching loads of vlogs about the Disney College Program. Some of the advice they give is to not let Disney take over your life in between the time of your phone interview and when you hear back from them. Since I haven't had my phone interview yet, I did not pay attention to this piece of advice. That is, until I realized that Disney was taking over my life. It's the only music I listen to, the only movies I watch, the only thing I read about. Every time I get on the internet, I instantly google anything having to do with the DCP. I've even taken time out of studying so I can draw in my Disney coloring book...

So here is my non-Disney solution!

A playlist of songs I've either loved forever, or just discovered within the hour:
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People, Hollywood Holt
1901 - Phoenix

Best band in the whole wide world.

Marathon - Tennis
The Green Room - The Tins
Disparate Youth - Santigold
A Day Late - Anberlin
Loser - Beck
Seattle - The Classic Crime
Heart Skips A Beat - Lenka
Save Me From Me - Amber Pacific

Movies I need to watch this week:
Warm Bodies
Life of Pi
Total Recall

And of course, the exams I still need to take...
Abnormal Psychology
Psychological Statistics

All right, hands in. "I hate school" on three. One...two...three...

Disney College Program

It has been way to long since I've posted a blog entry, but I am back! Today, I'm going to be focusing on my adventure so far in applying for the Disney College Program (DCP) ! I figured my roommates were tired of hearing me talk about how excited I was, so I'd just write it all down for the world to know!

So the story begins Thursday, February 28th. This was the day that I first found about DCP. I sort of half-seriously started working my way through the application after reading up as much as I could about the program. Before I knew it, I was finished and submitting my application!

Not even an hour later, I received an email directing me to proceed to the online interview/questionnaire. It said that when I was finished with this interview, I would immediately know afterward if I qualified to advance in the application process. After seeing this email, I decided that it was late, almost 11pm! I headed to bed because I had work at 7 am the next morning. However, I was tossing and turning for an hour and a half before I decided to get up and do the online interview at 1:30am!

After I finished, I found out that I qualified for the next step: a phone interview! I scheduled that for Wednesday, March 6th at 12:30pm. I have spent the last day and a half furiously searching every forum and blog that has to do with the DCP so I can prepare as best I can! This would seriously be a once in a lifetime, MAGICAL opportunity! Wish me luck, and I will update later about how everything goes, as well as what the program entails!