Homesickness

This post is for all my fellow Disney-lovin home bodies! So I’ve been looking at some of the new DCP pages for Spring and Fall 2018. After reading a bunch of posts about how excited people are (THEY SHOULD BE), I’ve noticed the same topic being discussed: homesickness. I am here to attempt to reassure those going through the pre-arrival panic. The thought of being homesick while on the program was definitely something that concerned me everyday leading up to my program. I am extremely close to my family, and this program was going to be the first time I would be leaving home for such an extended period of time. This is also the girl that even gets homesick when she’s at college… 20 minutes away… so you could say nervous was the least extreme way to put it. But, to lighten this post a little I decided to explain the feeling through GIFs because it’s been far too long since I’ve made a solid GIF post (and it’s fun).

So lets jump back to your acceptance day. You were probably blinded with excitement and couldn’t contain yourself for the most part. If you’re like me, you were probably crying and calling your mom, dad, second cousin, that random kid you sat next to in class once. You get the point, you called EVERYONE. The excitement was almost too much to bear.

So lets fast forward a little bit. Depending on when you received your acceptance, months could have passed. You probably joined some of the Facebook pages, you may have picked your roommates or you may have been adventurous as the DORMS site says and gone random. Either way the date is finally starting to approach. If you have to travel a good distance like I did to get to Florida, you’re probably starting to make preparations and even starting to pack. The excitement is still there, but suddenly the little stone starts to settle in your stomach. This can either be anxiousness or nerves, but either way this feeling grows in the days leading up to your departure. You might wonder what’s wrong with yourself because you’re literally about to go live your dream, yet the idea of being away for so long can still cause some panic. I’m here to ensure you that this is normal! If you get nervous every time someone asks how excited you are, it’s okay to feel that way! Excitement mixed with nerves is something everyone should be feeling!

Flash forward, it’s move in day! You couldn’t be more excited to move stuff in and finally meet your roommates in person! The day is filled with so many different check-in activities and to-do’s that you don’t really have time to think about the program ACTUALLY starting.

If you’re parents either leave the same day as move-in or maybe they didn’t come at all, it’s around that night when the realization of it all happening finally starts to kick in. You might be nervous about what your roommates think of you, nervous that you won’t make a good first impression.

Please don’t. I’m sure they’re thinking the same thing. Everyone is in the same boat as you are: no one knows each other. So please don’t panic! First impressions hardly matter when it comes to roommates, they’ll see you at your best and your worst. They will see your personality throughout time and odds are you’ll become a great Disney family!

After talking and catching up on each others lives, maybe even do roommate gifts, it’s time to go to bed for another full day of activities. This is when all the nerves tend to hit you at once. Down time can always be a great way for the mind to attack. You might be laying there realizing you’re here for the next 4-6 months and your mind might start to wonder. I wonder if I’ll make friends? What if I hate my job? What if I don’t fit in?

DON’T LET YOURSELF WORRY. Hakuna Matata my pals. It means no worries. I can honestly assure you that, yes, I did have these thoughts my first night, but they pass! Once you realize the people on this program are the best people EVER, you learn that everything happens for a reason! Everything will work out to create the experience of a lifetime!!! I will admit though that it might take some time for this feeling of pure happiness to kick in. You’ll probably wake up the second day and forget where you are for a minute after waking up in your new room.

It might be a little awkward at first getting to know your roommates and coworkers.

It might even take some time to fully understand your role and get into the swing of things.

But within a short period of time, you’ll come to realize that most of your days are filled with work.

Or playing in the parks.

You’ll soon realize that your roommates and your coworkers are like a second family, a Disney family.

You’ll finally notice that you don’t even have time to be homesick because you’re too busy doing so many fun things! Once you finally figure that out and get into your groove of things, well your program might even be close to ending (a total groove ruiner).

So I am here to tell you, don’t bother taking the time to stress. In the wise words of Walt Disney, Why worry? No matter what, in the end you will realize there’s no point in being homesick. Because Disney is your second home, filled with good memories, and family.