Many kids who do The Disney College Program fall so madly in love with it and they chose to extend their program and stay in Walt Disney World or Disneyland. At the end of my program, I opted not to extend and return home.

My love of Disney runs deep. It has been and will be the subject of many articles and conversations for a very long time. When it came time to end my program it was time for me to go home. My feelings for Disney did not change. I did not have any sort of traumatic experience that made me have a change of heart. It was just time to go home and move forward with my life.

While I did have a family vacation to Alaska approaching in the days after my Disney College Program there was more to the story. While staying in Disney would have meant missing out on a once in a lifetime trip I became homesick. I missed my home, home cooked meals, and all staple NY foods. I also missed my family and friends. They did come and see me often but it wasn’t the same. My roots were planted there. While I know I could easily plant new ones in Florida it wasn’t the same. The option to go home was there so I took it. It felt like the right thing to do.

For the same reason I needed to go to the Disney College Program, I needed to go home. Going to the Disney College Program gave me the opportunity to grow up a bit. I went to Disney not only to work for one of the most amazing companies out there. I needed to experience living on my own. I didn’t have the college dorm experience and this was the next best thing, if not better.

I needed to go home to grow even more. Not that I couldn’t grow in Disney. The Walt Disney Company is a wonderful place to grow and move up. Part of my life's plan is to return to The Walt Disney Company in some capacity. I have a degree to finish. I am almost done. I don’t want anything stopping me on my way to finish. I have been working hard for this time of my life. I fully embrace all forms of responsibility to come my way. I hope that the growth and responsibility I gain help me to be reunited with The Walt Disney Company again some day.