Path Dependency Paper
Most people find their soulmates, significant others, and futures at normal places like college, high school, clubs, functions, and other similar places. Not me. I found my person at the happiest place on earth, Disney World. However, there were a lot of choices that could have led me to not ever meeting this person. From moving to Florida, choosing colleges, and switching majors almost three times, a lot of things could have led to us never meeting at all.
Before I came to Florida, I had lived in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for most of my life. Born outside Philadelphia in Meadowbrook and living in Pennsylvania for almost eight years and then living in New Jersey for almost another eight years, I was comfortable and happy living in the north. I had the same friends from elementary school all the way up until tenth grade. That is when a lot of change happened. I learned near the end of my tenth-grade year that my mom had gotten a job in Florida. I did not really have a choice in the matter of moving, but I did not want to leave in the middle of high school, leave my friends, and move all the way down south. I was not looking forward to starting all over again in a new school.
So, we moved to Florida, despite my fighting to at least stay up north to finish high school. I made new friends, got good grades, finished my two years, and it was time to decide colleges. I had applied to only three schools, Embry Riddle, Florida Institute of Technology, and my top pick, Florida State University. I was applying to study in the field of meteorology, my plans were to eventually become a meteorologist for the military or work behind the scenes on a news cast network. I was lucky enough to be accepted into all three schools so was able to go with my top choice and attend Florida State University.
I started my major in the Summer of 2014 and tried to make it work. The classes were fine when I first started but as I got to my sophomore year, I started to realize it was not for me and began researching other majors. This choice made try to attempt to go for a business major in management. It was Spring 2016 when I decided to change majors, and it was also when I found out about the Disney College Program. I applied that Spring and I did not get in. I also was not able to switch to business management due to problems with my class schedule and course requirements.
At the end of the Fall 2016, I did not know what to do. I turned to the career center for help. I got set up with a career advisor and started having meetings to help me choose a major and decide my career path. My advisor directed me to Interdisciplinary Social Sciences and I talked to the Social Sciences College advisor and we set up my focuses in Economics and Sociology. I was on track to get a degree and possibly graduate a semester early. However, I wanted to try and apply to the Disney College Program again because I now had my sights set on working for Disney in the future. I applied in Spring 2017 for the Fall College Program and after only two weeks after my phone interview, I was accepted.
I finished Spring semester and went home for the summer, taking online classes so I could be on track to graduate in Spring 2018 when I got back to Florida State. I started adding Disney College Program Facebook groups, so I could start getting to know some people and find roommates for the program. He added me on June 12, 2017. It was ironic because we started talking about how I wanted to work in Magic Kingdom during our program and he ended up getting to work there, it was our first conversation. He ended up hating it a Magic Kingdom working at Casey’s Corner, I got Animal Kingdom and Epcot.
But we ended up talking the entire Summer. I had just gotten out of an almost nine-month relationship and he helped me through the breakup, still flirting with me almost the entire time though. He easily made me forget about my ex-boyfriend and he had me hooked with his humor and great personality. We had a lot in common with being FSU fans even though he graduated from USF, being obsessed with Disney, even being dedicated to working out and staying fit.
We first officially met the third day of the program, August 9, 2017. He was exactly how he was when we were messaging over the Summer and we quickly started dating. We went to Disney Springs together the day after we first met but I guess our first official date was September 8 in his hometown. On September 19, he officially asked me to be his girlfriend in front of Cinderella’s Castle and it has been magic ever since. I knew he was the one.
If did not move to Florida I may not have gone to Florida State University. If I had not gone to FSU, I may not have changed my major. If I had not changed my major, I may not have decided I wanted to work at Disney or apply to the Disney College Program. And if I had not gotten accepted and gone to the Disney College Program, I may not have ever met my soulmate. Everything happens for a reason and my choices have made me lucky for finding the person I want to spend my forever with.
