After graduating from SCS in the spring of 2013 I attended Azusa Pacific University.  Originally, APU was not the plan, but for some reason I felt called to go to school there, and when I went down to visit, it just felt right to me and my family.  After months of looking forward to moving down to California and going to school down there the time finally came, so we made the journey down and I started classes.  But somehow it all felt wrong.  I couldn't understand why God had led me to this school only to make me so miserable when I finally got there, but this fall I finally figured out why.

This past fall I got the incredible opportunity to be a part of the Disney College Program, in which I worked at Disneyland, primarily as a Skipper on the Jungle Cruise.  From the end of August through the first week of January I lived in Anaheim and drove to work every day at the Happiest Place on Earth.  As a skipper I got to take boatloads of guests through the jungles of Asia, Africa, and South America while trying to keep them entertained with joke after joke and pun after pun.  While some cruises seemed long and the days seemed even longer, it was a truly rewarding experience to help create that Disney magic that guests seem to experience every day.  In addition to rescuing boatloads of guests from charging hippos and frenzying piranhas, I could also be found waking up singing parrots to perform in the Tiki Room, and herding guests down Main Street during parades and fireworks.

While many days were far from easy-especially those spent working parade control-they taught me a lot about people.  I learned that some guests just need to be heard, whether it's a complaint about the terrible day they've had so far or a wonderful story about their daughter that dances in the parade, sometimes all you need to be is a listening ear.  But on the other side, I learned how little things like saying hi and smiling or taking time to read a nametag and calling the person by name can make such a big impact on a cast member's day (and I think that goes for most workers anywhere).  Working at Disneyland changed who I am; just like being at SCS molded me into the person I was before.  And now, as I attend UW, my life will change even more.  But the foundation built by what came before will still be there.

This past semester that I spent in California was more than I ever could have hoped for.  But it never would have happened if I had a different first year of college.  If I would have been happier at Azusa, or had gone to a different school to begin with, then I never would have sought out this opportunity. As we like to say on the Jungle Cruise: "When life gives you lemons, be glad you weren't a zebra!"

In all seriousness, we rarely know where God's plan is taking us, but a little blind faith and sometimes a whole lot of waiting can make things a whole lot clearer.