It's been quite a while since I've had the time to write. I'm hoping to catch a bus to the Florida Mall to meet up with my roomies, so I don't have much time to dig for typos. If you spot any, let me know. (The curse of being a fast typer).

Trying to compile all that's happened in the last few days could take weeks to write. I don't even know where to begin. So far, Disney has been both a magical and tragic journey wrapped into one. When I told people I was going to work at Disney World, they immediately smiled and said, "you'll have so much fun!" To a degree, I have, but working here is not all fun and games-- especially not when working in attractions. I'm responsible for the safety of the guests, which means I have to be on top of my game at all times... even at three in the morning after a twelve hour shift. Today is the first day off I've had since I started. All the days run together, and I've never felt more exhausted in my whole life. Sometimes those long days can make you a bit irritable, but you have to pretend to be completely content.

That being said, all the aching feet and almost shed tears are completely worth it when those rare moments of magic appear. It's in these moments that I can feel God, that I realize why He brought me here-- what I was created for. I was working the grouper position at Dumbo around 9 o'clock one night. Storybook Circus is relatively quite around that time, so the line was virtually empty aside from the few stragglers that came through. My job was to figure out how many Dumbos everyone needed. A family came through the door towards me for their ride-- two parents, and a little boy no more than four or five. He was wearing a first visit button. I was just doing my job-- I smiled and waved enthusiastically in greeting. All of a sudden, the little boy takes off running down the line towards me, and he throws his arms around me with a big grin. I was taken by surprise for a moment, and I couldn't help but smile.

"It's my first time!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

I knelt down on his level so I could meet his eye and gave a genuine smile. "It's your first time, buddy! Well then, welcome home!"

He giggled and threw his arms around me again. I almost teared up at the sincere joy, and I got to be part of it. It had been a long, torturous day on my feet, but I didn't care. In that moment, I got to be part of something I would never experience anywhere else-- I created joy.

Each day here is filled with bad moments, cranky guests and situations that make me want to pull my hair out. But just one moment like the one with that little boy makes patiently wading through the fire worth every minute.

There are a lot of people who look at this as a job, but I see a chance to make a difference. I fully believe if you make a difference in the life of a child, you can change the world. Even in making a child smile, that innocence is infectiously spread to the parents. I do my best every day to not just wait for those moments-- I look for them. Whenever I see a child crying, I always approach them and try to make them smile again-- give them a sticker if I have one. The other day, I was working Play Monitor inside the Dumbo Tent playground. My heart burst in two as I was making my rounds. All these children were running about having a blast, and there was one kid stuck in a wheelchair off to the side. He wasn't even facing the playground-- he couldn't play like the other kids. I couldn't stand to see him treated differently, and I didn't want him to feel excluded. On my second round, I stopped by him and his mother. I knelt so we'd be equals. I smiled and asked what his name was.

"Joshua," he told me, smiling as looked to his mother. He seemed surprised that I came over just to talk to him.

I asked him about his day and if he was having fun. I spent a good three minutes talking with him and his mother, and when I left he was still smiling. I may never run into him again in this life, but I can live knowing that, for a brief moment, I made him smile-- I created happiness. Time will pass, and I'll eventually have to go back to school, but I'll never forget Joshua or the little boy who was so excited he threw his arms around me. God truly has blessed me in greatest way possible. I finally have a purpose, and my life has never felt so incandescent. I'm finally finding clarity.

I was a little skeptical of choosing Attractions at first, but now that a full week on the job has passed, I'm glad I did. My fellow circus workers are becoming like family-- we're just one big bunch of carnies all looking out for each other. I'm beginning to match names and faces. Last night was a lot of fun. After closing down the rides in circus, we have to collect Lost and Found and take them over to the Little Mermaid Cast Member. There were at least five strollers left in circus, and by rule we're only supposed to move one stroller at a time. So, each of us took a stroller and headed down to mermaid. By Disney rule, when we're in costume we aren't allowed to leave our area-- we don't want to ruin the show for anyone. Mermaid was supposed to be clear of guests. As we neared the Castle Courtyard part of Fantasyland where the carousel is, we were stopped by a coordinator because there were still guests ahead. We passed off the strollers and returned the way we'd come so as to avoid what we call "bad show." As we were walking back, a manager was walking with a guest to find their stroller. Since she'd told us to go that way, we didn't get in trouble. It was an adult as well, so we didn't feel too badly. He would understand why we were there. As we were passing the Little Mermaid, however, a security guard was walking a little girl and her dad around to find their stroller. We didn't want to ruin the magic for the little girl, so I shoved Alex and Chelsie towards the Vacation Club booth to hide. We pressed our backs to the wall, trying not to laugh. We didn't want to let the little girl see circus people in the Mermaid area-- no need to ruin the magic. As they passed by, the security guard called out, "You're not very good at hiding."

We laughed and tried to shush him. "Wrong costumes," Alex hissed out.

We inched around the other side, waiting until they'd passed before making a run back to the circus. We skulked along the wall, stopping to see if the coast was clear.

"Blackhawk down," Chelsie breathed, trying not to laugh.

We 007-ed our way back, laughing hysterically once we were safely in our zone. It's nice to have coworkers I get along with. I doubt I could do any better elsewhere. We all have the same mission here-- to make other people happy. It's not always an easy job, but it's the most rewarding. God knew what He was doing when He sent me here.