Packing Day 1

So, today I began packing, which is one of my least favorite things to do. I am usuallly a minimalist packer, but given that I am packing for nearly 5 months, I can't be completely minimalist. The other challenge I am facing is the fact that I am packing for a trip that runs August-January in Florida. I am asking myself questions like, how many pants should I take? Do I really need a ton of sweatshirts? Have I packed too many tops? Do I need a ton of dress clothes? Do I need a formal dress for the Disney version of prom?

The interesting thing about working for Disney is that I will have to keep up the "Disney Look" as they call it. There are restrictions (only when I am "on stage" which means working!) with jewelry, hair color, and make-up. I am not allowed to wear any rings, only silver or gold jewelry that is small, one piece of jewelry on one hand and a ton of other rules. You also have to maintain a hair color that appears natural and compliments your skin tone. This is not hard for me, but it is just interesting to see that they put so much in the "look" that their employees have.

There are also rules in terms of dress when I go through Traditions which is a training course that all Disney College Program (CP for short) students must maintain. We must wear close toed shoes and professional dress. If a skirt or dress is worn, you must wear pantyhose. Since I absolutely hate pantyhose, I will be bringing dress capris and pants to avoid this. I will really only be wearing it for this one session of training and for any classes/seminars I attend while I am down there. I plan to take some seminar-like classes on resume writing, interview skills, and professional development that will help with my job search that I will be starting not long from now.

So, back to the packing fiasco that was today. I really only packed for a few hours, but I am doing pretty well. It is looking like I will need 4 suitcases to move me down there. (Who knows how many I will need on my return trip given my shopping habits and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!) The lucky thing is we are flying Southwest and each person is allowed to have 2 suitcases. So, each of my family members will have their own suticase and one of mine. I am trying to be really organized, but packing at this scale is really hard.

The nice thing is that the apartment I will be living in will be fully furnished including pots and pans, plates, silverware,etc. So at least I don't need to worry about all of this stuff. What might end up happening is that my parents will ship stuff to me so we will see!

I am also getting quite sentimental about leaving. I have never been away from home for this long before and it is going to be a difficult transition, but I know that I will have a blast and I am really excited for this opportunity I have been given!

That's all for now. I promise I will not bore you with packing info all week, but I will try to give some more info about what is involved with the CP.