On My Own

I woke up early Tuesday morning to the sound of a telephone ringing. My eyes shot open and my surroundings came to my attention. I quickly answered the phone to hear, "Good morning. This is your wake up call. It is now 4:30 a.m." The sound of the hotel operators voice was something I wasn't used to hearing. I knew I had to get up, regardless of how little sleep I had. After all, it was one of the biggest days of my life. I got ready and by 5:30, I had already said goodbye to my mom and loaded three months worth of baggage into the hotel's airport shuttle. Off I was, heading away from everything and everyone I have ever known. It was like the beginning of my freshman year of college all over again. 

I had been loaded on to the plane, 30 minutes later than I was supposed to, but I was on it and it was heading to Orlando. As long as I got there before noon, I'd be just fine. The fasten seat belt sign was on and the engines were roaring, ready to be up in the sky. Of course sitting in my window seat, the best thing for me to do was look out the window. And as we were waiting to turn onto the runway I couldn't help but notice the skyscrapers in the distance. Charlotte, NC. Known to me as home. At least it was. I was heading to a new home for the next three months. I saw the building close to the one I should be living in and checked the clock one more time. Most of my friends were already sitting in their new classes, but not me. No. I was headed to Disney World. 

I stepped outside of the Orlando airport waiting for the bus to my apartment. Quickly I realized how humid it was by the difficulty I had had breathing. Twenty bucks later and I was sitting in the back of a van driven by a driver I wasn't so sure had a license. I crossed my fingers, hoping I'd get there in one piece. Overhearing me talking to the man I was sitting next to, the girl in front of me had asked where I was working and told me she was in the Disney College Program as well for culinary arts. We didn't stop talking until we went to our new (and separate) apartments several hours later.