In just a few weeks it will have been exactly 1 year since I started my college program. The thought honestly makes me a little sad. How did 1 year go by so fast? But you know what went by even faster? The four months I was on my program.
I know I’ve said it countless times and at this point I’m sure you’re all like Victoria we get it, the program flies by so make the most of it. No one really understands just how fast it flies by until they’re doing the program themselves. It really is crazy. Anyways… the end of your program can be a great feeling. You’ll feel extremely accomplished, but it might also be very upsetting. You finally get to know all of these amazing people from around the world and then what? You all have to go your separate ways in the end. It’s a sad thought for anyone to leave best friends behind, but it has to be done. But that doesn’t mean the friendship is over. Far from it actually. It just means it’s time to get a little more creative with your communication skills.
When I left the program, the entire drive home I worried that I was never going to see some of my close friends again. But with planning and determination I found out pretty fast that that was not going to be the case. To help future heart-broken participants leaving their program, I decided to show you all the ways you can stay in touch with your Disney family!
Social Media: I’m sure this is pretty obvious but connect with your Disney pals on all forms of social media! I have a work group chat with my DCP coworkers and we still talk 
in it every single day! (Stands West Stands BEST and MadLit shoutout to you guys) We also created a work snapchat group so we can visually keep up with our day to day lives as well. Once again we still use these groups every day! The same goes for roommates! My “Clam Fam” uses our snap group every single day just to add a little daily spark of Disney magic to our lives. Also all of your Disney pals will absolutely become your best Instagram supports. Disney friends are the ultimate support system.
Phones: Get everyone’s numbers! Group texts! My roommates also have a group text that is once again used daily to ensure that the friendship lives on. The great thing about staying in such close contact with your Disney friends is always having their support. 
They’re always there for you. If you need to vent, you can send a message to your group text or Facebook chat. There will always be someone there to listen to you! Someone will always respond within minutes to help you out or hype you up. Not only will they make sure you feel better, but your friendship grows stronger with these moments. The trust that grows continues even after the program ends. They’re always there to give you unbiased advice and also advice from different aspects of life!
Letters & Packages: This is one of my favorite things! One of my coworker friends, Katie (SHOUTOUT TO KATIE), suggested in our MadLit group chat one day that we should all 
keep in touch through letters. That sparked a chain reaction. Soon, everyone was sending letters to each other! We send each other postcards from local landmarks as well as popular food or candy from where were from! It’s a great way to stay in touch and learn about other people’s ways of life at the same time.
The second part of sending mail has to do with packages! Whenever it is one of my roommates birthdays, I always try to send them a birthday package. It’s a great way to stay in touch and say HAPPY BIRTHDAY I MISS YOU! We also had a great idea for the holidays. Using a secret santa website that picks names for people, we were able to do a group secret santa from across the country. My roommates and I each were given a name from the website and we sent presents in the mail to our secret santas. Then in order to get to see who had who and what everyone got, we all FaceTimed together to open them! It was definitely a great way to start the holidays and a great excuse to chat all together for a while.
Visiting: So you just met friends from around the globe. Maybe some of these friends live
in places you’ve dreamed of seeing or maybe you just want to see your friend again. What better way to become a world traveller than visiting your Disney friends?? Towards the end of my program, I might have harassed my roommates and convinced them to buy plane tickets to come visit me for my birthday. It 
worked. One month after our program ended, they all came from different parts of the country to New England. I showed them all New England had to offer and they were able to celebrate my 21st birthday with me! It was an extremely special moment for all of us! I also know of 
people who have gone down to Disney again to visit program participants who are still living there. Either way, if you are able to save up the money, I 
highly recommending trying to go visit a friend!
There ya have it! Some fabulous and fun ways to stay in touch once your program ends! Have any other fun ways of staying in contact? Let me know in the comments below!
Toria's Tales 