Have Faith in Your Dreams and Someday...

Sixteen or so years ago, I helped my mother with the preschool class at our church.  It was in there that I met a little girl named Paige.  Over the years, our paths have crossed many times.  For four of Paige's last five years in school, I was her teacher.  I've always been her friend (even with the thirteen year difference).  And more than once, Paige has referred to my husband and her as her second family.  For that reason, we often call her our "pretend daughter," and my girls see her as a big sister (who they affectionately call Hobbit).

We're a lot alike; both huge Disney fans, and Harry Potter fans.  We love to spend our time reading, and are just as comfortable in a big crowd as all alone in a quiet room.  We laugh at the same jokes, have many of the same friends, and have seen our lives (although hers much shorter, so far) play out much the same way. 

A couple of years ago, it was Paige's senior year of high school.  Her parents had homeschooled her prior to sending her back to where I taught, so her class schedule wasn't the same as her peers.  It turned out that she had a free period when I had my planning period.  We spent the majority of that time talking, often about the future, and Paige would tell me how she dreamed of joining the Disney College Program and moving to Orlando. 

But that's just the backstory.

About a year ago, the opportunity to apply for the DCP came up, and though she was nervous, and called me multiple times a day to worry over it, Paige applied.  The first application was quick and painless, and Paige was soon through to the bigger application.  She worried that she would answer incorrectly, and somehow hinder her abilities to go, but it was all for naught, as her answer came more quickly than others, and soon she was scheduling her phone interview. 

Now, if you've ever met Paige, you'd understand why I wasn't worried one bit for her.  She lives and breathes Disney.  She is goofy, a little dopey, rarely grumpy, and happy as all get out.  She has never had a problem talking to people, and she exudes everything that I've come to recognize as the things that make Disney cast members great at their job.  But Paige was so worried it was almost comical.  She'd call me daily, ask people for advice (which was a good idea), set up fake interviews, and so forth.  She couldn't let it get this far and not get the job.  Of course, I'm sure the other seventy-or-so-thousand people felt the same way when they applied.

Well, wouldn't you know it, she passed the interview. 

And that's where Paige and I are different.  You see, I once thought about entering the DCP myself, many years ago, when I was in college.  However, I just couldn't bring myself to move that far away with no one I knew (ironic, as I knew no one on campus when I moved to UTK, either).  Paige, as much of a home body as she is, didn't let that stand in the way of her dreams.  She knew, back in high school, that Disney was a goal of hers, and she did what it took to get there (or at least, she'll be there in a matter of days). 

Paige will be fine there; she makes friends easily, and will be in a place she loves.  I'm sure not all her days will be amazing, but she'll just hop over to the Wizarding World, and life will be fine again.  (I'm only somewhat joking).  She's got a great group of supporters here at home, too.  I'm sure she has some of the fears that I had years ago; she just hasn't let that stop her. 

What dreams do you have?  If a little girl from "Hick Town" can move to Disney, and possibly be Wendy one day, then you can follow your dreams, too.  Have faith in them, someday they'll come true. 

Paige, second star to the right, and straight on till morning.  Meet you on Main Street in June.