It was November 11, 2015 and it was a warm night in Orlando. The day had been long and the trip to Orlando from DC had been short, but most of us were exhausted and excited at the same time. I stood with the four other members in the group, Helena Doms, Alyssa Cuco, Jacob Russo, Kon Matheoudakis, while Ms. Benedict and Ms. Percival waiting for the shuttle that would be taking us to the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort to arrive. Although I could feel waves of exhaustion hitting me, the excitement of the day that was to come ahead overcame them. Not only would I be spending time with the journalism group, but I would also be meeting up with my good friend, Alana Higa, who I had met during the past five years that I spent living in Hawaii. Coming from a military family, moving around has always been a part of my life. However, my move to Hawaii had been different, as I felt an almost immediate connection with those around me — with people like Alana helping making the transition into life in Hawaii that much easier over the course of those five years. Given the strong attachment that I had developed to Hawaii and the friends that I made there during that period of time, my move to McLean was that much harder, and so it made seeing a close friend like Alana that much more meaningful to me.
The gates of Magic Kingdom opened and crowds of people flowed into the park. There was surprises throughout the day, including performances by Andy Grammar and Ariana Grande as they practiced for the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade, to be aired on ABC on December 25th. We stayed in the Magic Kingdom from 7:30 in the morning until 5:00 at night, then leaving for Epcot. During our time at Epcot, a couple of journalism students went to cultural food night — a newly created program at Disney. We returned to our hotel by 11:00, excited for the convention which would be taking place the very next day.
During the convention, students from all over the US attended seminars which ranged from almost every topic related to the field of journalism, such as the lecture which was held on the photo journalistic art of “capturing the moment” or the discussion that was facilitated on celebrating one’s failures and their necessity for the purposes of each individual’s eventual success. The seminar on failure, in fact, turned out to be one of my favorite seminars as I had been struggling with the transition to life in McLean. I had been accustomed to welcoming new kids to my old high school, working as a leader to help assist with their transitions to the school. Yet, my move from Hawaii put in a place of unfamiliar territory and thus forcing me to become the one that needed help with the transition. However, this seminar on failure and success (which was led by a professor from Elon University) helped to teach me that I should always keep my head held high with the mindset that the next day was going to be even better then the last. Following the end of the first official day of the convention, we chose to spend our final night in Orlando having dinner and shopping together in Downtown Disney.
The final day of the conference was a sad one, as were forced to say goodbye to the friends that we had made over the course of those four days as well as to each other’s company. Coming away from the trip to Orlando, I was able to see how large of an impact it had truly had on me: ultimately helping me get through the sadness that I was experiencing from my move and finally settle down and be present in my new surroundings. I realized that I could value the experiences that I had encountered and the friendships that I had cultivated in Hawaii, while also still looking to the future that I had ahead of me in McLean. Thanks to the conference, I can now truly see and accept McLean as my new home.
