You're from South Dakota?

The reactions I have received about where I am from have been priceless, from fellow cast members and guests. I have even become a part of a scavenger hunt.

Not long ago, I was talking to a cast member as a guest about the program. She asked where I was from and once she heard SD, she asked me where I parked... I said Sioux Falls, SD. She is on the hunt for the 50 states and taking pictures of their license plates.

She doesn't have the Dakotas.... But she has Hawaii and Alaska? Interesting.

And today, a little girl was asking all the cast members where they were from. She ended up getting my signature for her scavenger hunt of 50 people from each state.

Scavenger hunts are popular. I've had so many people ask me questions so they can move on with their hunt. Today, I took a selfie with two girls.

The most common phrase I hear when I tell someone where I'm from is this, "You're the first person I've met from South Dakota!"

Hopefully I'm not the last! :-)

Magical Moment #2

I wish I could remember her name and age. It happened a while ago, but the memory is clear other than those two pieces if information.

It was a little girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old, who approached me out of no where as I was stocking in South (womens apparel). She wasn't shy in the least. You could tell she had a disability but I didn't let it phase me. I started talking to her like I would anyone else. Then for the next 10 min she proceeded to dress me up in hats and necklaces telling me I was going to the beach.

After a while, her dad had to take her hand and tell her Erin needed to get back to work. And just after that she ran up to me and gave me a big hug. I couldn't help but smile. Just before he walked away, he thanked me for being so kind. To sum it up, it brightened my day. :-)

Magical Moment #1

I'm not going to lie. It is a little hard to make a magical moment in Downtown Disney at a merchandise store. Maybe I have more of an impact than I realize. But here are moments I have been apart of and feel like had an impact, big or small.

One day, I was stocking in Adventure (boys), when a dad came up and asked if we had warm hats. Being in FL we don't have the biggest selection of stocking hats for obvious reasons. But we did have a few options. I pointed out the Star Wars hats in the next room over. When the mom wasn't thrilled about those, I showed them three more. One was pink and fluffy, another was a grumpy theme and the last was a simple stripped hat with a Mickey on it. The mom loved it, but her little boy screamed no.

I got down on his level and started talking with him. His name was Evan and he was 3 years old. He was shy but smiling. I asked him if he needed a warm hat for the parks tomorrow and he screamed excitedly, yeah! I asked him if he liked Mickey and he shook his head. I told him I did too and said look at this hat! It has all these colors and look! Its a Mickey with a silver outline! Do you want to try it on?

He slowly nodded with a smile on his face and his mom got at our level with us. She then asked him if I could put it on. He smiled and said ya. So I put it on and he looked so cute. I told him how awesome he looked and showed him the mirror. He just looked at himself for a minutes as his parents laughed exclaiming he was such a flirt and that they wished they had recorded it.

Evan and his parents got the hat to wear at Magic Kingdom the next day. I wouldn't have tried persuading him if I wasn't sure that his mom loved it.

I couldn't help smiling after I walked away. 

What day is it?

Sitting at the bus stop in this heat I realized a common question I have been asking myself for a while now... What day is it? It's Tuesday? No that can't be. It feels like Friday. No wonder the last month has blurred together.

Its gone so fast, I'm determined to kick it into gear and do all the things I want to do before I leave. I will not be extending my program simply because I'm ready to get on with the next stage in my life. I'm ready to find my career and get in a groove. I'm at a very different place in my life from others on the program. I've graduated. I've had wonderful experiences in my field. And now it's time to go and get the first full time job.

I did apply for a Professional Internship with Disney but received an automatic response telling me I wasn't qualified for the position. I searched high and low for positions and I felt the role was the perfect fit for the experience I had. So I'm going home in May. I can say I worked for Disney. And maybe I will work for them again, in the field I love and have a passion for. But it seems to me that the time is not now for whatever reason.

So much is going through my head right now, but I will leave it at that for now. :-)