Day 446: The Cold Hard Truth

Much to all of our dismay, there always comes a time that we must leave Walt Disney World, or Disneyland, or whatever Disney Destination we prefer. Back in July I did write a blog post about how terrible it is to leave Disney, and the funniest part is it's hard to talk about it beyond saying "I HATE IT OUT HERE, LET ME GO BACK!" Or "I MISS HOME SO MUCH!" or "TAKE ME BACK TO DISNEY WORLD RIGHT NOW."

Yep, those seem to be the natural responses of Disney fans when they return...to where it is they came from. You can't really say you return home, because for the most of us, returning home means going to Disney, so when you leave Disney it's like leaving home. In fact, it's funny because when I was down there this trip I couldn't help but think about it. I didn't cry when I left home for College, and I only cried a little bit when I left my High School Band (although I guess technically I'm still there a little bit. I still have the band trip to look forward to). But no matter how many times I go or how old I get or however long I was there, I cry when I leave Disney. Every. Single. Time. Because you really are leaving home. It's a home that we all have, but we just aren't at for most of the year.

Which leads me to the other half of today's topic: home. I had another interesting revelation on this trip. When I step foot in a Disney Park, it's like walking through the front door. It's incredibly natural for me. I can picture everything perfectly in my head at any time, as if when I walk back to my dorm tonight and open my door, Disney World is what's waiting on the other side instead of my small room. It's just a kind of funny feeling, because I really do know exactly where I am and where I want to go and everything. I feel like I'm home.

In other words, it feels 100% natural for me to be there. That's not really a feeling I have anywhere else. You just feel like you belong there, as if you're a part of the park and of the magic. I'm not sure if everyone feels that way, but I sure do, and I think a lot of my fellow Disney fans will agree with me. When you grow up with something like Disney it's a part of you just as much as you're a part of it. And when we aspire to become Cast Members someday to make people happy, because that's what we love and because we want to make the experience just as magical for someone else as someone did for us, we're only adding to the experience, on both our end and their's.

So no wonder leaving Disney is so painful. It's like a part of you is only with you for a few days, and then you're ripped away again. Frustrating stuff if you ask me. Don't worry though, since there were so many of us down at Disney within the period of like a couple weeks, we can all fight this Disney Depression together.

Pictures from my final day at Disney:

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on March 27 due to Midterms and Travel).

Day 240: In the Library

You know what's interesting and great about college? The fact that I can go and sit in a legitimate library, with my chai tea and do my homework. Now, if you're smart you'll point out that right now I'm not doing homework at all, but am instead blogging, and you'd be right, but it just felt like time for a break.

But you know what sucks about college? The fact that you have to leave so much behind. I mean, it's this time that will probably end up being the best years of your life, and you're finally free from the confines of your house, and I absolutely love college, I really do. There are so many things I love. But at the same time, back home, I can't help but feel I'm already being replaced.

I guess I knew life would go on without me, and it's something I'll have to eventually accept. It's just like how when I was sitting on the top of Bay Lake Tower the morning of my departure, I couldn't help but think about how life will continue to go on there. Even after I've left, the monorail will continue to run and everything, and that's how I related this, even though I'm pretty sure I've discussed this concept before.

Like it's not that people have forgotten me, since in reality they probably haven't, but to me, everything they say or do is like a knife in my heart. Like they'll talk about stuff going on, and I'll be like "yeah. I know. I was there two days ago." I've been gone for two days and already it seems to me like they're doing all of these things without me. Things I never got to do and will never get to do. That part of my life is gone...but I really REALLY miss it.

In fact, I think I miss it as much as I miss Disney.

Here's today's Disney History: 1989: At Disney-MGM Studios, Jim Henson (who is making a special appearance to announce his pending partnership with the Walt Disney Company) and Kermit the Frog leave their imprints & signatures on the courtyard of The Great Movie Ride.

Have a magical day!

Day 197: The Hardest Part

So I finally finished editing my final vlog from my Disney trip, and that means that I can finally write this blog post. It certainly took long enough. It's just so hard to edit video when you're so busy. But I did it, and now I will talk about that one thing no Disney fan ever wants to talk about: leaving.

Leaving Walt Disney World is like, I don't even know. It's just so terrible. I cry just about every time I leave now, kind of like I did as a kid, but I think it has more meaning now than it did then. Like now I realize that I might not be back for a really long time, kind of like what I'm going through right now. I'll be back with my High School Band in 2014, but that hardly counts as a Disney trip for me. Yes, it's Disney, and I'm really excited for it, but three days is hardly enough time for me to be home. And then I'll have to wait at least another six months to go back. I'm going to go insane.

And the problem is, no matter how hard you try, you won't be there or anywhere close until you go back. I mean, I listen to Disney Parks music literally EVERY DAY, and yet I still long to go hear it for real. Sometimes I just want to go and have time to just sit in the parks and listen to the music I listen to here. Like in Epcot. I want to just sit on a bench, people watch and listen to the music. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. Just being there would be good enough for me.

So when you leave Disney, you're coming off this high of being there for a number of days, some of the best days of your life, and then you have to go back to reality. And then you go through Disney Depression, which I'll talk about very soon, and you just sit and wait and wait and wait and wait and wait until you go back.

And the worst part? Saying goodbye gets harder every time.

Here is the final vlog from my July 2013 Trip to Walt Disney World.

Here's today's Disney History: 1955: Television crews, Walt Disney, Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan, Bob Cummings, The Mouseketeers, Thurl Ravenscroft, California Governor Goodwin J. Knight and over 28,000 guests witness the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Broadcast on ABC, it is the biggest live telecast to date.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on October 12, 2013 due to obvious editing issues).

Day 153: Graduation

I'm going to split this blog post into two...meaning that I'm going to write half of it now, save it, and then write half of it later. Why? Before and after graduation.

Right now, with about two and a half hours until the start of our graduation ceremony, it occurs to me that all along, for the last 13 years, this is the day I've been dreading. Unlike most graduates, I never saw the happiness in Graduation. It meant we leave. Yes, we get to go on to bigger and better things, and don't get me wrong: I'm excited for that too, but I leave so much behind. This past year has, without a doubt, been the absolute best year of life. I found myself in a position I was happy with. School didn't seem like work anymore because I loved what I was doing. Isn't that what they say? That work doesn't seem like work if you love what you're doing. Being the president and drum major of the Seymour High School Band was a TON of work...more than I think anyone could have possibly imagined, but I loved what I did. I would walk into band everyday with a smile on my face, and if I didn't, it wouldn't take long for one to appear. The band says they are extremely proud of everything that I have accomplished and they thank me for everything I have done, but honestly, they have made me who I am today, and I am the one who should be doing the thanking. I would not be Lizzie Tesch without them. I wouldn't be ready to go onto my own Adventure in the great wide world of Disney. It just wouldn't happen. Not to say that the rest of the wonderful people who surround me haven't made an impact as well...they have, but it's the band that gave me opportunities and responsibilities and made it possible for me to learn. I didn't think I'd like being Drum Major, but now I can't even imagine what my life will be like without it. I wouldn't of had that if it weren't for the band, and most certainly I wouldn't be going into music next year when I head to college.

As I said in my memoir post, If my life was a movie, I would be standing in that band room slowly turning while the world flew by around me. That's how it feels right now. It feels like the past 13 years have flown by. It's like it was just the other day when my kindergarten class would have nap time, or how in 1st grade we would watch the show "Oswald", which was about an octopus I think, during snack time. Or what about recess, or the end of third grade when I took pictures with all my friends. There was middle school, with the hours spent on projects and studying for tests. And in high school, there were the insane projects, one after another, some by myself, some as a group, but each one a masterpiece in it's own way. And then there was senior year, the beginning of the end, and how every single day I would think about June 2nd, Graduation, and how much I wanted to avoid it because I wasn't ready to leave. I'm still not ready to leave.

But most importantly, it feels like just the other day I played oboe for the first time, or that first time I played in the high school band. And now, here I am, about to play with that group, all of us together, for the last time. I am not ready to leave, but I am not afraid of the future either. It looms, like, as I said in my introduction for Brave at our final concert, like a big and ferocious bear. But if we pursue, everything will work out alright, and we will become everything we want to be.

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Graduation is over now, but I think my only real comments on it are this:

I feel much better now that it's over. I honestly don't feel any different, other than the fact that my friends all still go to school while I stay at home...well, until I go in to do some work. Then I just get a visitors pass. That is weird though.

I am incredibly proud of my best friend, Megan, for her speech, but that will be tomorrow's post.

There is a lot of picture taking.

My solo went great, and the band played really well.

Other than that, I can't say that I feel any different or that anything is different. Time is still going too fast, but at the same time, for the moment it's seemed to slow down, although I have to say that today has gone by pretty quickly. I still have a lot of work I want to get done for band, but I enjoy that job, and if there's anything I can do to help, I'm going to do it. =)

Here's today's Disney History: 2011: Disneyland Resort celebrates the opening of The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure with a special ceremony at Disney California Adventure park. Jodi Benson, the original voice of Ariel, performs "Part of Your World," one of the memorable songs from the film's Academy Award-winning score. The attraction opens to the general public June 3.

Have a magical day!