The past few days has been a whirlwind of activity. I'm not even sure when to begin!
On Saturday the 20th, I took Stari early in the morning to her Music Man audition at Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy. It had snowed like crazy the night before, so the roads were a mess, but I was glad to help my little sister out one last time before I left. Afterwards, my immediate and close-extended family came over and we had lunch at Ming's Garden, which is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants. My aunt helped me tightly pack my suitcase and carry-on afterwards, and I received a beautiful blessing from my dad. Not long after that, I left for the airport.
At the airport, Hailey, Emma, Paris, Maddie, and Courtney came to see me off. Aedan had wanted to come, but due to the "Best of Five" show, he was unable to; however, he did Face-time me before I went through security. Stari had been so brave about me leaving up until we had a group hug, and then she cried, which caused the rest of us to cry. I was wiping away tears as I entered the security queue, and when the security guard cheerily asked me how my night was going, I said, "Great, thanks" through blurry eyes and a shaky smile. I was jittery the entire time I waited at the gate for boarding, but I was completely at peace as the plane left the terminal.
I was lucky enough that the flight wasn't fully booked, so the middle seat was empty between myself and the window-seat passenger. I was able to at least rest my eyes on the three and a half hour flight (it was supposed to be four and a half, but I guess they over-estimated), however, there was an instance where I almost fell into the isle when Window-seat had to use the restroom, and I woke up once to him poking me in the shoulder asking if he could use my charger cable since his broke. Besides the major turbulence, it was a rather uneventful flight haha.
After landing in Florida at about 5:00 am, roomie Savannah and her mom were nice enough to come pick me up at the airport. They let me crash in their hotel room, Savannah took me to the YSA ward with her (we left after Sacrament meeting though, since neither of us could stay awake), and her mom paid for both my breakfast and lunch. I couldn't be more grateful to them, and I'm blessed to have Savannah as such an amazing roommate!
My first night alone in the hotel was hard. I've never stayed alone and I do have to admit, I cried for a few minutes as I got my bearings. But I was able to calm down and I slept really well. The next morning, Savannah's mom was there to pick me up and take me to check-in, which is where I found out my apartment number, got my key, and got my Housing ID. I live in Chatham 27102, which is a 3-bedroom 6-person apartment on the ground level!
This is where the title of this post comes in. "When the clock strikes midnight" is when all the magic fades away. In my posts about this program, I'm aiming not to sugar-coat anything negative, but I'm aiming not to down-size the positive either. In the future, it'd be nice to have something truthful to give to those who are considering doing the program and want the truth.
Chatham 27102 was (and well, currently isn't) very clean. While the bathrooms had gotten new sealant recently, the tile flooring feels gritty under my feet and there are mold stains in the sink and around the tub. The kitchen tile floor is much the same, and all of our plates and bowls required washing before use (as did our silverware). I'm also not quite sure how clean the mattresses are, so thank goodness for protective bedding! But at least I haven't found any bugs, or rats, or anything of the sort yet, right?
Anyway, after check-in, I had Casting soon after and it was honestly one of the easiest things I've done. Basically, they ask about piercings and tattoos at the very beginning, and then you go on to describe yourself, get finger-printed, and get your I9 legal documents finished up. I know a lot of people stress about it, but it's not that big of a deal. I went in a very casual business-casual outfit, but there were a lot of people in more casual than what I was wearing, so I found that outfits weren't at all as important as I thought they would be!
Just as predicted, all six of our group made it in together! It's been a blast getting to know my roommates better, especially since Makaela, Savannah, and I went on a five-hour shopping trip together (I still have food I need to get though, but I'll wait until our fridge is more organized and we know what we'll be able to do for Morgan's gluten-free allergy). We'll be getting together as roommates on Thursday, since none of us have anything that day, and we'll do gifts and come up with house rules.
Today, I had my housing session for Chatham, which was at The Commons. It was about a fifteen-minute walk from Chatham Square, but it wasn't a complicated route at all. Housing wasn't terribly long, and the cast members who ran it made it a lot of fun! It's also casual dress, so I was able to relax a little more while there. After that, Makaela, Savannah, and I spent a couple hours exploring Disney Springs. I've never been there (not even when it was Downtown Disney), so it was great to experience something I've never experienced before! Since then, I've been sitting in my room, just drawing and letting myself relax since I have to get up early for my 3D scan tomorrow morning.
I've really enjoyed getting to know my roommates, and I mean that sincerely. It's great meeting people of different backgrounds and personalities, and it's interesting to see how we all have similar interests that somehow make all of us so compatible.
I can't say too much about this next little bit, but I will caution those who have roommates or are thinking about getting them (whether they be at the DCP, in college, or otherwise). People are not always what they seem, especially over the internet. I'm learning the hard way that it's incredibly difficult to read someone's words and the motives behind them, but it's SO important to remain positive. Find people who you can talk to about the situation, but I highly advise against making those people you talk to your other roommates, because it would be no fun to start gossip and distrust amongst your room. There will always be that one person who you feel will want to bring you down, and you must find that balance between giving them the benefit of the doubt but also protecting yourself from words that were meant to be harmful.
I think the lesson I've recently learned within the past two days is that the DCP is not all pixie dust and fairytales. I never expected it to be, but the start of the program has re-affirmed that. The choice of how the program turns out, however, is going to be my choice. I'll decide if I let negative emotions (intentional or unintentional) affect how my program turns out for me or not, and I'll be the one to decide how this story ends!
"If you had the chance to change your fate, would ya?"
- Merida
