Hi all,
I was, up until recently, entirely set on having my second post be about the application process. Upon reflection though I really need to talk to you and have you understand the weight and significance of the situation I find myself in. To do that we need to go back a little.
Picture it. Half way through 2012. After years of educational problems I'm finally in my last year of high school. I hear about a program that would allow me to travel to America to live and work. Gaining experience with children in a fun working environment. Disney International Programs, you say? Not quite yet. Instead, a little known organization called Camp America that hires students for a few months and assigns them a place at an American summer camp. I was so excited, but at the same time unsure and after going to an information session I still wasn't sold. It seemed like a lot of money for such a short amount of time. There were things that made me question constantly whether it was worth it.
Months later I still hadn't applied. One of the most valuable lessons my Aunt ever taught me was never to go ahead with anything if you aren't sure. "If you have to think about it then you don't want it," She used to say. Now, of course this can't apply to every situation but it certainly applied here. I just couldn't be sure if it was for me. The one thing I was sure about was that America was where I wanted to go.
Around the same time is when I became obsessed with Disney. When I say obsessed, I mean obsessed. It was all I would ever talk about. Disney this, Disney that. Every week when I got paid the only thing I could think about was how many Disney DVDs I could buy while still being able to afford the bus. I had always been a huge Disney fan but it was then that I became what I like to call an 'active' fan. Instead of being content with what I already knew about Disney I wanted and needed to know more. I was watching and collecting the movies. I read about the company, the employees and the parks.
One fateful day during my quest for knowledge I came across a video entitled 'Revenge of the Disney employee'. I'd seen the rest of the videos in the series and clicked on it looking for a little Disney humor. Instead I got some information that changed my life. The creator of the video mentioned Vista Way, one of Disney's housing complexes, going on to explain that students from all over the world live in these complexes while they work for Disney. As soon as he mentioned Australia I was sold. I went straight to google and typed in Vista Way. Following link after link I finally found what I was looking for.
The eligibility criteria for the Disney Australia/New Zealand Cultural exchange program was staring me right in the face and I fulfilled every point on the list. Except one. I wasn't enrolled in tertiary education. All of a sudden, with a video and some participant forums, I knew what I wanted. One minute I had no idea what I wanted to do after year 12. The next I had my mind set on one path.
Disney has always been a huge part of my life. But before that moment it had just been something I enjoyed. The second I heard about the Cultural Exchange Program Disney became my dream, my future and my motivation. Disney is what motivated me to peruse education past high school, Disney was my rock when things got tough, Disney was my joy when things were going my way. Disney means more to me than I will ever fully realize. Perhaps, even absent of that realization, I will be able to one day repay my debt.
- Lily
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