Are you going to dress up like Mickey Mouse?

Three years ago (almost to the day) I applied to go work for a year in Walt Disney World in Florida.

I got it.

That makes it sound really easy and that I didn't work hard to get in because I did. They only take about 10% of applicants and its quite an accomplishment to have been accepted. Even now I wonder why they took me. ;)

Tonight one of my parents friends daughter found out she's got a phone interview (the first in a long process) for a place so called to ask a little advice. I couldn't believe how much I remembered about the questions I was asked and how I felt at the time (particularly since my memory is shocking...) but it all came flooding back. I kept a LiveJournal for about the first three months before I was just having too good a time to keep track of it. But when she asked me tonight if I enjoyed my year, I couldn't quite find the words to tell her how important it was to me. And how much I really do think the whole experience shaped me as a person. Although I had gone to Uni, I did it in my home town. I lived in my own flat, but never more than a half an hour away. So to suddenly move 4000 miles away as an only child felt pretty epic at the time, even though I was 23. The work was hard but I made friends I'll have the rest of my life.

In a way I sort of thought it made up for the void I'd felt at Uni. Because I was never particularly interested in studying and only did the bare minimum to scrape by, I missed out on a lot of the social aspect and community feeling you get from university. But I definitely felt those things working at Disney. You live with the people you work and play with and truly feel like a family for the time you're there. You have to. Like I said you're 4000 miles away from everything you know so have to make friends pretty easy or it can be the loneliest place in the world.

Ironically, saying this, I'd never go back. It was such a 'once in a lifetime' thing that although I'm sure I'd have fun if I were to return it would never be the same. The people would be different and there wouldn't be the same sort of wonder of learning new things that I had last time.

I learned more about 'life' at Disney than I did from 4 years of uni and the disgusting amount of student debt that came with it. If anyone has serious thoughts about whether Uni is right for them, I'd definitely recommend a GAP year. I happened to take mine after Uni but it still felt right.

And how could it not? It's the Happiest Place on Earth. :)