Effie Does Disney

At 1:35 p.m. today, my flight left from the Des Moines International Airport headed for Charlotte, NC. Once there, I will be a hop, skip, and a jump to Orlando where I will be spending my next 6 months working for Disney World.

I have never been more than 40 miles from home for any long periods of time, and I have never gone solo on a such a huge adventure (I do think that Noah would have been impressed with me). I am both excited and terrified to embark on this journey, but I know that I am gong to have the time of my life.

I know that 10 years from now I'll look back on this time and remember working for the "Happiest Place on Earth." I'll remember the feeling in my stomach when that first plane took off and how giddy I was to actually be landing in Orlando, and probably even how sad I'll be when I have to leave. I'll tell my friends and kids and anyone who will listen the same story 20 times because this is going to shape me. I haven't even hardly completed the first leg of my journey but I already know this is going to be big.

Sitting here now in seat 13A I can still hardly believe this is happening to me! After all that I have been through in the last few years, this feels like a break in the clouds, and I am so excited to take advantage of this opportunity. I was talking to someone the other day and I told them that I don't ever want to find myself sitting inside on the couch watching TV on a day off, and I truly mean that. I want to DO while I am here, I want to make the absolute most of my time- even if that means visiting the Magic Kingdom every single day to occupy myself. I want these six months to be a chance for me to overcome and enjoy myself, to love who I am, and to make some changes for the better (I'll be damned if I don't come back with a kickin' beach bod)!

The last two weeks were very difficult for me. I was having a hard time processing that I would actually be leaving my friends and family, and I didn't really know how to calm my fears. However, in the last 14 days my friends have showed so much love towards me and I feel so overwhelmed because of it. It's easy to start to feel alone when you're going through transitions or rough times, but I know as I leave Iowa I am not saying goodbye to a single person, only "see you later," and because of my little army, I know I will be okay.

So watch out Orlando, and here I come Mickey, because Effie is about to kick some Disney ass! :)