I moved down to Orlando by myself on January 20, 2020. I packed two suitcases, a duffle bag, a backpack, and my pillow and went to the Philadelphia Airport. Disclaimer, I looked completely silly trying to carry all of my luggage. I was glad to check in my suitcases and then I only had a duffle bag, backpack, and pillow (I still looked silly). I was a short fly away from my dreams becoming reality. Once we landed I was filled with nerves and excitement. When I was waiting for my luggage, I met a fellow DCP who had been in the program for a few months. She was very kind and lived in the same complex that I was going to move into. We exchanged contact information and she told me that she was willing to help me move in my things tomorrow. After that, I found my way through the airport and had a worker assist me in bringing my luggage to the Disney's Magical Express (it was after 10 PM which means the luggage service was not offered). The Magical Express brought me to the hotel I was spending the night at before my check in which was Disney's All-Star Sports Resort. I picked the All-Star Sports Resort because I knew it was the cheapest and closest to the main lobby (I knew I would have to carry my luggage by myself).
The next day when I was moving out of the hotel and into my new home I went out front of the Disney Resort to fetch an Uber or Lyft. Instead, I was met by a private taxi driver who started to take my suitcases before I could say no and he ended up charging me $30 for a five minute drive. I felt very uncomfortable about this whole interaction. Once at Vista Way, the taxi had to let me out at the front (complex security reasons) and I had to carry all of my belongings around by myself. Fortunately, I was able to text the girl from yesterday and she helped me carry my things to registration. I went through registration and got my complex ID, key, and my apartment number. My apartment was 4010. The girl (Sydney) and I carried my belongings all over Vista Way until we finally found building 40. The numbers did not go in order and 40 was all the way in the back corner next to building 23 (go figure). Of course, my room was on the third floor of the building (there was no elevator). After finally bringing my things up and picking my bed (I was the last one to move in so I did not have a say) I asked Sydney if she wanted to get lunch with me. We settled on Chick-fil-A because it was within walking distance from the complex. Sydney told me more about herself and her job for the company and it was nice to get an inside look from someone who was experienced. After lunch, I went back to 4010 and began to unpack for a little. At this point I still have not met any of my three other roommates. While I was unpacking and making a mess of the room, my roommate Kayla and her parents came in. I was very excited to meet my direct roommate. Her and her parents stayed for a bit and then left to go to the store. Not too long after they left, I left to go and do my check in. I had to catch a bus which brought me to the Casting building. In this building I went to several of rooms to verify my background information and get my fingerprints taken. After completing all of my registration, I got back on the bus and went to Vista Way.
After Casting, I connected with this girl named Abby on Facebook who was going shopping to get food and home goods and was wondering if anyone wanted to come along. I reached out to her and she lived in my complex and picked me up along with another girl named Alexa. We went shopping for a few hours at Walmart and they helped me bring my items up to my apartment. All of my roommates were finally home and we all got to introduce each other. When Abby and Alexa left, my roommates were curious on how I already made friends on the first day. I simply told them I found them online (lol not the safest way) and I was lucky that they were friendly and nice. I had no idea that this was the beginning of one big beautiful friendship.
Later that night, the roommates and I played games and stayed up talking trying to get to know each other better. There was Kayla from Indiana who studied Television Arts at Bradley University. There was Katie from Massachusetts who was a student athlete. There was Hannah from California who was a hairdresser. We all were around the same age and graduated from school. We all came from different walks of life and had different personalities and I did not know it at the time but I was looking at my future best friends. People who lived across the country but would forever be an important part of my life. These ladies would be the ones that would make just a few short months of friendship seem like years. We learned, grew, and supported one another everyday. I miss them dearly. God knew what he was doing putting us together as roommates. Kayla the wise and witty, Katie the adventurous and sporty, and Hannah the funny and loud. That first night as we were all exhausted from a busy day, we took the time to get to know each other and share our stories. Before going to bed we made plans with Abby and Alexa to explore the next day.
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