Your feet can learn the steps, but only your heart can skate them.

I wrote a personal narrative in my english class this year about college and it started like this;

"I have spent at least 8,268 hours of my life in a skating rink."

Actually, this is a lie. Over the past 12 years, I have spent way more time in skating rink than this. I did the bare minimum numbers for this math. And the crazy thing is, I'm really going to miss it.

I started skating after my failed attempt at gymnastics. I actually hated skating at first too, but it wasn't because of the actual skating. I hated the dumb helmet I had to wear. It was this huge, ugly, black hockey helmet that would pinch me when I put it on. Ew. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. In my first skating show I was actually in a Pocahontas group program! This blog is slowly turning into six degrees of separationg the Disney version...Anyway, I loved skating from the first time I got on the ice. I remember staying up for hours the day before my next skating lesson wondering what I would learn next. I loved the dresses, I loved getting my makeup and hair done, I loved my programs, I just loved everything about the sport.

I do both solo and synchro skating. Synchronized skating is team skating...I always describe it to people that don't know what it is by saying, "It's like synchronized swimming on ice, but it's way better". I've been doing synchro since I was about seven. I've been on so many different teams. One year I was actually on three different teams at the same time...which was interesting.

Skating has led to many great things for me. Not only is it fun, but I have made so many good friends that I would've never met if it wasn't for skating. This is probably what I'm going to miss the most about it. I'm going to miss all the girls I skate with, my coach, all the little kids I have helped coach, and everyone on the other teams. It's crazy, but I'm also going to miss my early morning practices that feel like you're waking up at the crack of dawn. Probably one of the worst and best feelings is being so exhausted and getting on that ice bright and early to work. I'm probably not going to miss the bumps and bruises that I'm always showing off, but I'm pretty sure I've hit those same spots so many times that I will permanently have purple bruises on my legs.

There were many times that I almost thought of quitting skating, especially when my grandmother died. She was my biggest fan, and that April when we found out she had lung cancer to that January when she passed away was the hardest time of my life. She would always be at my skating competition down the Cape, and at that competition I lost it. We had found out the week before my competition what her diagnosis was and literally, I was in my warm up bawling my eyes out because I just wanted to do the best program I had ever done for her. When she died in January, I had to leave for my competition in Lake Placid a day after her funeral. There was one moment where I just wanted to give up and not go. I was an emotional wreck for 10 months, so I wasn't ready for this really important competition. But, I knew that she would've slapped me over the head. She knew how important skating was to me, and she would've never wanted me to stop because of her. So that day when I competed I knew that she was in the stands of the 1980 olympic rink cheering me on, and I know that at every competition she is there cheering me on.

Didn't mean to get all sentimental folks :) well in conclusion, I know that I will always have a special place in my heart for skating. It's never been that nice to me, if you think about how many bumps and bruises and injuries it's given me. But I know that when I'm thirty and my knees are already giving out because of so much skating, I will still love it. It will always be apart of my life, no matter where my life takes me. I'll always remember the feeling of getting on that ice. And when I get to Orlando, I'm finding the closest rink and going skating.

"Do you remember why you skate, or has it been too long? Is it because you’ve worked so hard to get where you are, or because you love to be part of this team? Is it because you don’t want to let anyone down, including yourself? Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become, the hours of practice, the teammates who believed in you, and the fans who cheered for you, is the little girl who put on her first pair of skates—who fell in love with the sport, and never looked back.

Skate for her."

Number one!! :D

My number one favorite ride at Disney World is....drumroll please!!!.....

EXPEDITION EVEREST AT ANIMAL KINGDOM!

I could go on Everest all day, everyday. In my opinion, it is the best roller coaster in Disney World. I had the chance to go on it our first trip, but I was stupid and stayed to sleep at the hotel instead of getting up and going to the park with my family, but I think I've made up for that by going on as many times as I can when I'm there. I love going up and up and up at the beginning, it's my favorite part. I wave at all the people down below, and I usually get some waves back. My mom absolutely hates this part of the ride and refuses to wave. I got the chance to be in the first row one time, and when you get to the broken tracks you can see Tower of Terror and Epcot from the top!! Coolest thing ever. Funny story though; I didn't see the yeti until like my 50th time on the ride. Let me explain; I knew there was supposed to be a huge yeti at the end of the ride, but it's more...up. I always look straight ahead on roller coasters, plus there are strobe lights and I paid more attention to those than the yeti, PLUS my dad had never seen it either...PLUS I like the cute and cuddly looking yeti (my mom and I own these):

Not this scary looking furball:

See? Wouldn't you rather a cuddly, loveable yeti? Yeah, me too! I still choose not to look at the yeti when I'm on the ride, I'll take cute and cuddly please :] after this ride, I became obsessed with Mt. Everest, I find it so interesting! Anyway, there it is, my top 10 rides of Disney World!! I'm going to think of another list that I can do...suggestions are welcome :]

My 10 Favorite Rides at Disney World Part 3!

4. Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom: I didn't go on this ride until my 2nd trip to Disney, but it became one of my favorites right away. I love Walt Disney's idea of how an American family was and what he thought it would turn out to be. The last time we were at Disney I made my family go on with me twice. It just always makes me really happy. Plus, I'm super jealous of their house. I want it! Plus, the song gets stuck in my head all the time but that's totally okay with me :]

3. Big Thunder Mountain at Magic Kingdom: I can go on this ride 50 times and not get sick of it! In fact, I try to go on this ride about 50 times when I go to Disney :D it's such a classic ride and it is always so much fun. It's perfect for people who don't love the bigger rollercoasters that much either. Once when we went on something happened and it went really really slow the whole entire time...it was really weird and I've always wondered what went wrong that made it go so slow! Every single time we get off this ride everyone asks eachother, "Can we go on again?!" Believe me, it is very rare when all of us agree on something so easily, and when it does happen, it's great :]

2. Philharmagic at Magic Kingdom: Best.3D Movie.Ever. No, 3D movie doesn't even give Philarharmagic justice. It's like you are really at a show with all of the characters. The first time I saw it, I literally had to pick my jaw off the floor. I didn't expect how amazing it was going to be! I love how many characters are incorporated, how it smells (we actually have a spray that smells exactly like the pie in Philharmagic from Bath and Body Works! It's my favorite!) It's also so cute when you see all the little kids reaching out for everything, and I've totally done it too just like a little kid :] we always try to see it as many times as we can. When we go during the summer after we've been out in the sun all day, someone always says, "Let's go to Philharmagic!" Just know that if you ever go to Magic Kingdom with me, you'll be going to this at least twice :]

Next is numero uno!!

My 10 Favorite Rides at Disney World part 2!

Numbers 7-5!!

7. The Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios: This is the ride that made me want to work at Disney in attractions. I think it's because there is so much interaction between the cast members and the people on the ride...or it could be because the first time I went on the person that played Mugsy was extremely good looking. I am always devastated when we get the cowboy instead. The cowboy will never be as good as Mugsy. Ever.

6. Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom: Okay, I have a confession. I did something very un-disney when I went on this ride for the first time. But, a little background first. I hate drops. I can do loops on roller coasters, I can do cork screws on roller coasters. I hate drops with a passion. So, Splash Mountain was never something I considered going on. I only went on because the rest of my family was going and I didn't want to be by myself. Plus, I had some weird confidence that I could go on...until I got on. It doesn't help that there's about a year of animatronics before the drop even happens. I was so mad and so nervous, that I looked at brer rabbit and brer bear and fox and said, "I hate you."...these characters show up about 15 times during the ride, and every single time I would look at them and I would say, "I hate you." However, the ride isn't that bad...it's still pretty scary to me...but it's not that bad. Plus, my mom always gets soaked which is very funny!Not to her though...none of us get wet except her every single time. And, I usually sit next to my Dad, and in every single picture on Splash Mountain he is cowering behind me...he swears he's not but the proof is right up on that screen after we get off the ride. AND I DO NOT HATE BRER RABBIT OR BEAR OR FOX! I was just overcome with the jitters that I said some things I didn't mean. In fact, I have a brer rabbit stuffed animal :]

I don't hate you guys. Promise :]

5. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin/ Toy Story Midway Mania at Magic Kingdom & Hollywood Studios: It's a tie! These are both equally great. I love these ones because my family and I are super competitive when it comes to these games. Here's how it works for us;

- My mom & my brother sit together; My dad and I sit together.

- No sabotage. It's rude.

-If you don't get a picture of your score on your phone or your camera, the score never existed.

We get so competitive in fact, that we go on both of these rides more than once. My mom usually beats all of us, which is pretty impressive considering she is the only one that has glasses and is pretty blind without them. One time my gun glitched on Buzz Lightyear though, and I automatically got a 99999999 times a million, so I sat through the whole ride. It was great.

To infinity and beyond...until next time :D

My 10 Favorite Rides at Disney World!

Alright, here's numbers 10-8 of my favorite rides at Disney World :D

10. Rock n' Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios: My mom and I went on this on our very first trip to Disney World. I thought I was going to pee my pants waiting in line for this I was so nervous! The only thing that calmed me down was when I overheard the people behind us in line say that it only lasted 90 seconds. You can do a lot in 90 seconds...not dying is one of them. I had already been on big roller coasters like Batman at Six Flags, so I had no idea why I was so scared, but this has turned into a ride that my mom and I (my dad and my brother are wimps and won't go on :p) have to go on. It just hurts your face a lot at first...and the pictures at the end are always embarrassing...but of course those pictures are the ones we end up buying.

9. Tomorrowland Transit Authority at Magic Kingdom: This ride is the best after walking around the park for a really long time because you just sit there, but that's not the reason it's one of my favorites. It's one of my favorites because one time my mom and I were at the park for extra magic hours, so it was really late and we decided to go on the TTA. When we got to the Space Mountain part of the ride, we got a very cool thing. Something must've been going on at Space Mountain because all the lights were on and you could see everything! It's this massive structure and it has so many twists and turns that it looks like if you moved at all on the ride, you would be hit in the face by this huge track. This was also not good though because it made me so scared to go on Space Mountain because I was afraid my head was going to be chopped off...and I kind of need that.

8. Primevil Whirl at Animal Kingdom: If you like the mad tea party ride and roller coasters, you have to do this one. It's both of those put together to create an amazing ride. It's in DinoLand USA and it's great. (For my New Englanders, it's like Pandemonium at Six Flags, but soo much better!) I love this one because all of us go on together, and it is always funny to see the reaction of my mom, dad, and brother.

To be continued... :]

"It's a bubbler, not a water fountain!"

So, yesterday I met up with my first Disney Career Start friend. Her name is Jess and she was the first one to reach out to me when I first joined the boards and the facebook group. Here's the crazy thing; we live 15 minutes away from eachother!. My mom had joined the disboards first and after 5 minutes of being on it she said, "There's a girl from Woonsocket!" I could walk to Woonsocket if I wanted to :p So we went to Friendly's last night and pretty much talked about everything, and we decided, "hey let's be roommates!" I was so excited! Later that night, we were all on disboards and we (meaning me, Jess, Nichelle, Steph, Brittany, and Taylor) are going to try and all room together! It's so great it already feels like a mini family. We are already planning on a bunch of fun things to do the first night, and Jess and I are planning on getting stuff together over the summer :] Now we can use our crazy New England slang and we'll know what the other one is talking about!

Here's the first thing I bought for disney. It's my lovely princess comforter and sheets. I've been eyeing these babies since I saw them at the store and told my mom, "If I get in, I want those for my bed." When we got them though, it all kind of hit me. I'm moving to Orlando. It's really crazy to think that in November I was planning on staying home, finding a job, and saving for college, but now I'm getting ready to do the Disney Career Start Program and getting stuff for the apartment I'll be living in. I still can't believe it. It's a little overwhelming, but I'm so excited that I've been all smiles since I found out I got in :] Yes, there are still some nerves, I mean, it is pretty far away, but I'm a tough cookie I'll be alright!

"So, are you going to be like, Goofy or something?"

I went to Disney World for the first time when I was 13. Right smack dab in the middle of the terrible teen years. At the time I was...different. My wardrobe had two colors, black and red. My favorite thing was to wear as much black eyeliner as possible. I considered it a successful day if it didn't smudge. It was Christmas day and the last present under our tree was this flat looking box and it was for me and my brother. My mom was videotaping and told us to open it. When we took off the wrapping paper it was a plain Kohl's box. I remember thinking, "If these are matching outfits I swear to God..." (probably threatening to be more brooding and annoying. Cute right?) but boy, was I wrong. There were brochures for Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom. There were Disney tshirts and hats. It didn't hit me until I saw a pin that said, "My first trip to Disney".

I think I jumped about 50 feet in the air.

I was so excited. "I'M GOING TO DISNEY!!!" We left at about 2 in the morning on the 26th, and that's when I pretty much did a 360. The whole trip is such a blur now but I remember one thing, walking into Magic Kingdom, looking around and saying,

"I'm going to work here someday"

Fast forward to my senior year of high school. I had already decided that college wasn't going to work. It wasn't that I didn't want to go I mean, I have really good grades and could probably get into a lot of different schools, but there's something that has never been my friend: $$$$$$$$ So, I decided that I would probably work for a year or two and then go to a school. To me, college is something I should be paying for, not my parents. They've paid for enough. But I found the Disney Career Start Program one day by accident when I was looking at the Disney College Program website (I was more sad that I wouldn't be doing that, I could've cared less about school :p) and I was so excited! I showed my mom and dad and they were excited about it too. Others though, not so much:

"So are you going to be like, Goofy or something?"

(No, I'm way too short to be Goofy.)

"Won't you get sick of Disney?"

(I haven't yet so why would I...)

"What if you hate it?"

It scared me how much I had to defend something that I wanted to do. I hated when teachers would go around the room and ask, "Where are you going to College?" because when they got to me I would start, "Well, I'm applying for this Disney Career Start Program, and hopefully I get in..." But now, I can proudly say "I'm doing the Disney Career Start Program!" It's exciting and scary all at once but I'm in! So now when people ask me if I'm, like, going to be Goofy or something, I can proudly say:

No, but he'll be one of my co-workers!!!