The Disney college program has been filled with so many positive interactions and ways to grow and learn. During the beginning of 2018, I decided to apply to the Disney College Program for Fall 2018. The application process was fairly simple and quick. The interview process took about a week; within two weeks I had gotten my acceptance, paid my fees and booked a flight. At this point in time, It didn’t seem real; the first time I had gotten accepted but couldn’t move down was such a bummer and I was constantly thinking that something was going to come up again and I wouldn’t be able to participate. As I said my goodbyes to family and friends, went through airport security, and got on the plane, it still didn’t feel real. Four months later, it still has yet to hit me.
The disney college program has been filed with so many challenges and sometimes it seems so unreal how much I have grown as an individual and as a professional. I look back to how scared I was getting into the program about three months ago, and I can’t believe how much things have changed. One of the ways I know I have changed is in closings. I remember when I was first given the task to close a station with a partner, It took us the entire shift and it was exhausting. At the end, the trainer explained to us that we were supposed to close the stations on our own. My reaction to that as full disbelief; there is no way that I can get all of that done on time. A couple of weeks in, I was finally put to close a station on my own and it took me about forty-five extra minutes to close. At this point in time I was completely discouraged and was so hard on myself. Getting to work became hard because it just seemed like I was being set up to fail. Fast forward to three months later; boy have things changed. There are days when I am late by a couple of minutes, but for the most part I have learned to work efficiently. I made it a goal for myself to finish on time every time I closed and sooner or later task became less intense.
As I look into the future, the most important thing I take with me is the notion that “I can do it.” As cliche as that may sound, I didn’t think myself capable of closing beverage island in the span of a couple of ours. The things that seemed daunting before are more manageable now. This notion that things will get better, I can get better, and I can do it is so important to me because half of the battle I face is how hard I am on myself. Disney has given me more confidence. Perhaps is because of the many mantras written on the walls, because they give us seemingly impossible tasks and expect us to get it done, but disney has definitely taught me to believe in myself and my abilities. In the future when I get a new job filled with daunting tasks and impossible work, I will think about the holidays at Port Orleans French Quarters and know that I can get through it.
