who.what.Ren: September 2014

Friday, September 26, 2014

Oh, How Time Flies!

Exactly one year ago today, I was accepted into the Disney College Program! That was a year ago?! Shut the front door!

Actually applying for the program, and then doing the web-based interview, and phone interview feel a little distant, but the excitement of officially being accepted and then telling other people about it feels like just yesterday!

I wrote a post, the first one on this blog, in fact--the one that started it all, not too long after my acceptance. If you want to throw it back (as the kids are saying... :/ ) you can read that first post by clicking here!

I knew that my college program would be filled with a lot of working, but also with a lot of fun. I had hopes to make a few friends, and come out of it having learned something about myself and what I want to do in the future.

What I was not prepared for was how much I was going to change and grow as a person, and how much the new people, the many new friends, that came into my life would mean to me! I think back, and the people who made my program what it was, really left a large impact on my life! I cannot thank them enough!

Nic and I leaving Magic Kingdom for the last time on our program, wearing our Graduation ears :)

Not only did I make a few really good friends along the way, but I have met some of the greatest human beings I have thus-far encountered. As cliché as it sounds, I really have made friends for life. These people mean so ridiculously much to me, and I love them very deeply. I am now friends with people from all over the country! (Though, I still got my Midwest crew of Nicolette and Ean locked down!)

It is crazy to think how much can change and how much can happen in such a short period of time! Ah! Time flies, but the fact that I am able to look back on this past year and smile, feeling accomplished, must mean I'm doing something right!

One of my favorite lines in Dream Along with Mickey, aka the greatest castle show you'll ever see, is sung by one of my favorites, Peter Pan! "Seize the moment! Let your fantasies and dreams set sail!"

Doing the Disney College Program was my dream, and it happened. I mean, come on! That is awesome!

x Lauren

Thursday, September 18, 2014

We All Need Somebody to Lean On!

This is a post created rather quickly surrounding a late-night thought I had, so enjoy a little bit more of a raw post for a change!

I check the physical mailbox at my house every day without fail. I keep my phone on me throughout pretty much the entire day. I refresh my social media accounts quite frequently.

Why do I do all of this? (I know what you're thinking-- because she's sad and has no life or friends… And okay, maybe, but no!) I check the mailbox just in case somebody decided to take the time to write me a letter. I keep my phone on me in case someone reaches out via phone call or sends me a text. I refresh the various social platforms I'm a part of, in hopes of seeing something positive.

I just want to feel like somebody else out there, somewhere, cares. I think all of my little actions mentioned that could be seen as pathetic and desperate, are really from a place of optimism and hope. I so badly want things to go right for me, and I want the support and encouragement from others in the process.

I realize it's not fair for me to expect these things from other people, when I'm not the best at doing this and being this myself. Changing that is something I plan on working on, starting now!

I was never the kid with many friends. I was actually the kid that other children excluded on the playground, and ran away from during recess. I was the kid who was told she was weird and that she was only invited to the birthday party because people felt bad for her.

I so desperately craved friendship from my peers, and didn't find the same overwhelming response from others.

I've been told by multiple people in my life that I'm "not worth" being friends with or they "couldn't care less" about my feelings or me. Actually hearing that from people on more than one occasion is pretty dang disheartening, not going to lie to you! Because of hearing those sorts of things, I'm not always very good at letting people into my life. I feel like I burden and bother other people, and I back off out of fear that I'll push them away.

Do not get me wrong, and I did not forget to mention that I have found a few good eggs among the others. They have been the biggest blessings to my life! To be able to call people my genuine friends means a lot. Their ridiculous amount of patience to put up with me is worthy of an award, complete with an acceptance speech and no cut-off music. And for them, I'm incredibly grateful.

Yes, I had to throw in a random Disney picture with friends because I didn't want a post made up solely of text! That's boring for you and me!

This is more of a single thought-turned-journal-turned-blog post for others to read now, so let me give you some sort of takeaway! You deserve as much if you read through my bit of a downer rant there!

Do you know that feeling you get when someone reaches out to you or does something nice for you? How do you feel when someone takes even a few moments to be there for you, even if just to listen? (If you say you don't know that feeling, let me know and I'm all ears for you, sincerely!)

Okay, remember that feeling, and then go out and create it for someone else! Be the friend for somebody else in your life! Just be there for them, show up! They could be right in front of you, and you never even thought about it! Don't assume they don't need you! They could be so good at faking strength, but may be crying out on the inside for somebody else to care. Trust me, I've been that person!

Be the person to pass the good vibes on. Pay it forward. Those little things, like a letter in the mail, or a text message, go a long way! It's not always the act itself, but the thought and person behind them!

Life can be so negative.

Be the positive!

x Lauren

Monday, September 15, 2014

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

Recently, I completed a project that makes me very happy. While being in Florida for my Disney College Program, I took many pictures that captured such memorable moments. It is such a joy-inducing thing to look back over all of the pictures.

While I didn't keep a journal of all the good times that I can read over and experience again, I did take many photographs that in and of themselves tell stories, and bring back a wave of emotions. I kept this blog, which journaled the highlights, and I certainly shared many photos here and on my social media platforms throughout my program.

After importing pictures from my phone, various memory cards from my camera, and from friends' cameras and such, I had a mess of pictures on my computer. It is a happy mess of memories, but I wanted to bring some sort of order to the chaos. There were far too many pictures for me to take on the task of detailed scrapbooking, and too many to frame just a few to put around my room.

I went through them all and narrowed down the ones I wanted to print. I had a few hundred pictures printed in the end (is that overkill? I don't think so, haha!). Next, I dated each picture and put them all in chronological order and began filling the photo album I purchased with these specific pictures in mind!

There is something so satisfying about holding this large book that is filled with pictures I took, pictures of my friends and me, and the place that was my home for roughly seven months! They aren't just pictures of a moment in time, they are a physical representation of the happiest time in my life so far.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the pages in this book are filled with nearly 300,000 words that tell the happiest story filled with some of the happiest individual moments I can imagine.

Here is a look at a few of the page spreads in the album chosen at random!