Day 1232: And So It Ends

They say that college is going to be the best four years of your life, and while in some regards they're entirely right, they're also sort of wrong. My first two years of college went by mostly without a hitch, but this third year tested me in ways I never expected. Still, this past semester especially brought me not only a new apartment and new classes, but new friends and a new life altogether.

I'm logical enough to not go in depth about anything that did happen in the past 9 months, but in the last 4 there were so many great moments that definitely outshone the bad ones, and I couldn't have done any of it without my pals in the picture up above. You already know Megan, and then there's me, followed by my friends Brian, Lauren, Erin, and Allie, and I owe each of them so much for basically saving my junior year, taking it from the hell I experienced in December and January and turning it into the joy and happiness of these last few months.

Whether it be trips to see Donald Trump on our college campus or Game of Thrones marathons, late night chats, awkward experiences, cherpumples, movie nights, or most importantly, our sunshine lunches, this bunch let me be myself and helped me rise up rather than attempted to bring me down, and I'm definitely a stronger person now, more dedicated to my future than ever.

But we're still at the end of my sixth semester of college, a point in time I never really expected to actually come. I've lived in four different campus buildings, and taken a whole slew of classes, but luckily I have another year to spend with these folks before I head somewhere far off, and before that last year even comes I've got a whole summer to dedicate to the things and people I love, and considering where I was a few months ago, nothing makes me happier than that prospect.

Have a magical day!

Day 1225: The Ins and Outs

Finals week is upon us and I don't think I've ever known so much about music history. 

Unfortunately, four of my five finals are falling on the same day, which isn't really a situation I'd like to find myself in. Plus, they're all early in the week, which gives me less time to study. What this leaves me with is a ton of studying to do with not a lot of time, so I've been listening to my fair share of Disney music to keep me sane. 

It seems that as the years go on, things get both harder and busier...which probably isn't surprising considering the fact that, theoretically, junior year should be harder than freshman year. The great part about it though is that it almost motivates me more...to a point. Because I have so much more going on, my will to prove that I can handle it all increases, meaning that I study a little harder to achieve that 4.0 and spend a bit of extra time making sure everything is in order for the end of the year meetings across campus.

Although it doesn't give me much more time to blog...

Have a magical day!

Day 1217: Overwhelmed

Things are pretty crazy around here. My laptop has been acting up again, which means I can hardly take it anywhere these days, and with finals and the end of the year approaching I seem to have less time than ever. On all accounts, I'm incredibly overwhelmed, and that means that I'm living the motto I shared last semester in this video: to find little ways to incorporate Disney into your day even when you're actually too busy to do anything remotely awesomely Disney! 

I'm off to do more homework, but have a magical day! 

Day 1188: The Best Part

Yes, the above picture is of my setup in my college library not long ago, but that's beside the point. We're here to talk about blogging, and why, while usually drastically behind on my blog, I really love what I do. Between Everyday Disney and my YouTube videos, as well as being a full time college student, I keep myself busy in more ways than one, but the best part about being a Disney blogger, especially one that writes something like this, is that I not only have the freedom to do my work at my own pace and my own way, but I get to explore and participate in what I love while doing it.

I mean, where some of my fellow students spend their free time doing things they might have to do, or, let's be honest, just watching Netflix all day, I get to go to movies under the premise that it's so I can blog about them. When I'm in the Disney parks, my blog has forced me to explore new things, some of which I'd never even heard of, and some of which have become some of my new favorite activities while I'm there. I get to meet new people, see new sights, and am constantly taking pictures and improving my writing as we go. Plus, it's really great to have something on the side to devote my time to, just so I'm not spending all my time in classes and doing homework. It's almost like a break from the daily grind, and that's usually a huge relief during the busy semesters at college.

I love blogging, even when I get behind and end up writing 20 posts in one day to try and catch up, and I'm always excited to see where my blog will take me in the future.

Have a magical day!

Day 1173: Freedom

The spring and fall semesters of college are pretty drastically different. After all, in the fall you have breaks every couple of weeks thanks to holidays and such, but in the spring you pretty much have spring break and Easter break...unless you go to a Catholic private college that decides to combine those breaks so you end up with one slightly longer spring break. 

Long story short, by this point in the semester we're all pretty burnt out and ready for a few days off. Luckily, we've got that time now, and while I've contracted a cold and fully intend on spending my days warding that off rather than doing anything else, it is nice to have a few days where we don't have to worry about homework or tests...or at least not until later in the week. It gives us all more time to do fun things, although maybe not as fun for those of us stuck in Wisconsin rather than off in some much warmer state (ahem...Florida). 

That doesn't mean there aren't things to be excited about back home though. Fastpasses for my trip in May can be made this week, and my friends who are in Florida have been taking plenty of pictures that make the view outside my apartment window both more and less depressing. Warm beverages make the winter a little less cold, and above all, the fact that I don't need to leave my apartment for any reason all week helps too. Maybe I can just forget about the winter that still lingers? 

Have a magical day! 

Day 948: English and Music

Like most college students, I'm continuously faced with the prospect of the future. I can't even begin to tell you how many questions I get about what I want to do with my life and/or, more frequently, what in the world I'm going to do with my double major of English and Music Performance. To be completely honest, I don't really know what my ultimate dream job is. It changes almost on a daily basis, but I do know that I want to work for Disney, and today I was reminded of one of the huge reasons why.

Again, like most Disney-Loving college students, the Disney College Program is definitely on the table for my future, although I won't be able to apply until I complete my undergrad schooling due to the number of credits I need to graduate on time (music gets complicated). That doesn't mean I haven't already done my fair share of research on the program, however. I know when I'll be applying, and while I don't know what individual portion of the program I want to work in yet, I do know that's a choice that I'll make when I get there. Today has been a sort of weird reflection day for me when it comes to the future, starting with this great FAQ on the College Program by Sarah, which you can watch HERE. As a person seriously going back and forth between the college program at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, this was a great sort of information overload for me, but what really stood out was when Sarah mentioned that at Disney, it doesn't matter what your major is because anything you want to do, you can do for Disney in some capacity.

For a student who gets the "and what are you going to do with that?" question ALL THE TIME, this made a huge impact on me, regardless of the fact that I already knew that Disney is made up of an extremely diverse population of careers. I knew from Day 1 that if I wanted to pursue music, I would be able to pursue it with Disney, and today, when Sarah mentioned it in her video, I really got the overwhelming feeling that, while moving to a different state and being completely on my own is absolutely terrifying, working for Disney is also a major right decision in my life.

And for a college student to actually feel confident in a move like that, especially a couple of years before it's actually going to happen, is a really big thing.

Have a magical day!

Day 802: Do What You Do...For You

As a college student, everything you do has a profound impact on your future. If you get caught drinking underage, that goes on your record. If you are in a variety of on-campus clubs and hold leadership positions, those make a huge impact on your resume, which you'll eventually send off to employers. And if you spend none of your time studying for the test you have at the end of the week, you definitely will get a low grade. After all, a man unwilling to study for the test deserves what he gets. On the other hand, if you spend literally all your time studying, you'll quickly get frustrated and tired. You need to find a balance.

But sometimes, people just don't get it.

I've actually been kind of angry about this all week, and that would be why it's time to get it off my chest. The reason it's here on my very public blog? It involves my blog, very much so.

Over the past two years, I've learned a lot about friendship. It's been rough going here and there, and while at least a solid half of my friend group dropped out from under me, I've held a few constants, and I have certainly made new friends along the way (my roommates, for instance, I'm sure will be happy to know that I've mentioned them here on my blog). But what's kind of a weird feeling is watching a friend you trust not understand anything you stand for. It's ok to have different opinions, but that doesn't mean you insult who I am.

After having dinner the other night with one of my friends, who I hadn't seen in quite some time, I was pretty well astonished when she made a comment about how I spend my time. Basically, she told me that maybe I could spend more time practicing my alto if I stopped blogging and doing Disneybounds and watching my dear Once Upon A Time. While, yes, on a technical level, if I stopped all of those things I WOULD have more time to practice, it just doesn't work that way. It means that literally everything I care about would be taken away from me, and I'm not about to sacrifice one huge part of my life for another, especially when I actually have very real physical restrictions due to my wrist (I suffered from some overuse issues in the fall, and they continue still today).

But Disney, and my blog, and Once, and all of this...it's my future. This is what I want to do, and I have to do it for me. I mean, no,  I'm not famous, and I'm certainly not earning anything from the work and time I put into all of this. But on the other hand, I'm slowly gaining speed, and eventually I will get to the point where I'm interviewing real people and making a real difference talking about Disney as a career.

So when someone suggests to me that I should give all of that up because it's not important? Of course I'm going to be angry! Why wouldn't I be? You know what though? Someday I'm going to be sitting and interviewing someone like Colin O'Donoghue, and you know who will be laughing then? Me. And Colin, because he'll be there too. And yes this is a goal in my life. Doesn't mean interviewing Colin is any less of a goal than learning another alto saxophone solo. These are all things I want to do in my life, and it's the reason you'll find me practicing my saxophone with a Monsters University hat on my head, or sitting at my desk blogging away all afternoon to catch up on a week I missed because I was, indeed, studying and doing my homework. Is Everyday Disney or Once Upon A Time or Disneybounding the most important thing in my life? No. But it's certainly important enough for me to continue doing all of those things, because they help keep me moving forward, and at this point, I'm not sure what I'd do without them.

Which is why my advise to you today is to keep doing what you love because sometimes you have to do it for you. I can't guarantee that Everyday Disney will help me get a job in the future, but I can tell you that it keeps me writing, something that's crucial for my major. And you never know...maybe someday something WILL happen and I WILL get to go interview Colin O'Donoghue. I'm not throwing that equation out of the question any time soon.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on March 16 due to Midterms).