Back in March, I was blessed with the amazing opportunity to travel down the Florida to be apart of the Disney Dreamers Academy Class of 2023. Since getting back from that trip, I have been super busy BUT now that I am officially graduated from High School, I can have more time to write and stay active!
Dear Disney Dreamers Academy,
My words cannot express how grateful and honored I am to be a part of The Class of 2023. This experience has been one of the best in my life and honestly, I will treasure it for the rest of my life. I learnt so many valuable lessons. One of the main things that I have learned is that the sky is not the limit and that we are limitless to what we can do. I met so many people whether they were my peers or guest speakers and/or industry leaders who are proof of that – We are all capable of great things!
I want to thank the judges for choosing me. I was actually, stuck on one of the questions and I was honestly doubting myself. My mom encouraged me to keep thinking about the question and it literally took me a week and a half to come up with an answer. I am so glad that I didn’t throw in the towel. I was in a fog because I was also in the throes of college applications. Surprisingly, in December I received my Disney Dreamer package that I was a (potential) winner and that same evening I got into my 1st choice college acceptance letter! (Towson University here I come!) WOOOHOO great day indeed!
Day 1:
Upon arriving in Orlando, we had transportation from the airport to the Coronado Springs Resort (which is huge btw). Our room was very nice and pretty spacious. We then got to spend the day in Animal Kingdom which was very fun! It was really hot unlike the weather here in Maryland so it was hard to get used to. One thing I learned about this experience is how much walking you have to do at these parks. I don’t get how some people do it 😭 especially in the heat. Anyways, It was fun getting to spend time with my family on the first day and enjoy looking at cool animals! We also watched the Lion King show in the Asia part of the park and it was really good so I’d definitely recommend going to check it out if you’re ever in Animal Kingdom.
Day 2:
This day was action packed. It really didn’t even feel like it all happened in one day. It felt like every event happened over the course of three days but it was all just really exciting! We had a very nice breakfast to start the day and then we prepared to walk in a parade in Magic Kingdom! The parade was so cool and I was towards the back walking with Pluto. The whole experience was so cool and definitely something i’ll never forget being a part of. The whole rest of the day we got to spend time in Magic Kingdom going on rides, eating good food, and then getting to watch the fireworks. It was truly amazing and also TRON the light cycle ride was incredible and probably my favorite ride that I went on!
Day 3:
The third day, we got to listen to a panel of celebrities and influential people who gave us good advice about how to go after our dreams, and overall inspirational stories from their personal life as well. We also did career deep dives about our interests in whatever career we’re interested in. I was in the Law and Politics Deep Dive with Lennon Edwards who taught us about what it means to be a lawyer and he gave tips on how to control the narrative in the courtroom. We spent time analyzing different cases and towards the end, we participated in a mini mock trial activity and practiced addressing both sides of an argument. The whole deep dive lesson was very fun, inspiring, and super useful for the career that I am pursuing. Later this day we went to Hollywood studios. We went on some rides and then had dinner at Pizzerizzo before heading over to see the Fantasmic show. The show was incredible and I loved every second of it.
Day 4:
The last full day of the Disney Dreamers Academy was a little sad for me knowing that this experience was coming to an end, but I tried to stay present and enjoy every little thing that we had planned for that day. My favorite part about the day was watching the fashion show that my fellow dreamers got to be a part of. They all looked amazing in their new outfits, and you could truly see the confidence they all had. I loved it. We also got to listen to a panel of celebrities who shared their experiences and advice that they had for all of us. After this, we had lunch and headed over to EPCOT where we got on a lot of rides (my favorite was the Guardians of the Galaxy ride). When we got back to the resort, we had dinner and then we had a dance party! Questlove was the DJ (I was starstruck)!!
Day 5:
The last day was incredibly sad because I didn’t want to leave. This experience was incredible, and I think I made so many deep connections with not only my fellow my dreamers, but my reps too. They were all amazing and super inspiring. We had a ceremony and one of the sponsors of the event, Statefarm, announced me as one of the Good Neighbor Award winners! We even had a special message from Jake from Statefarm which was so surreal to me. I cried happy tears because although I was sad this experience was over, I was also thankful for the people I met and all the connections I have made.
Thank you so much Disney Dreamer’s Academy for selecting me to be a part of this amazing once in a lifetime opportunity and I will definitely continue to keep dreaming of endless possibilities. Thank you to all the guest speakers/industry leaders who came out and drop words of wisdom and knowledge upon us. Also, thank you to State Farm for picking me to be one of the winners of the Good Neighbor Award I will always be a Good Neighbor! ❤️
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