Happy Thanksgiving, world! I hope everyone ate themselves into oblivion and thought about what they’re thankful for and whatever.
This month has been absolutely ridiculous. Actually, this entire semester’s been ridiculous. But since the month of November began, I’ve worked relentlessly on the crews of two separate plays (and auditioned for one… eek. Later, comfort zone.), read about six books (not for fun), wrote an unknown number of papers, and got far too little sleep. So, I’m pretty thankful for these few precious days off from school.
It occurred to me today that if all goes as I’ve planned (fingers crossed!), I’ll be spending next Thanksgiving in Disney World as a CP. I approached the subject with my family today and they’re more excited than I am, if that’s even possible. They plan to fly down for Thanksgiving and Christmas next year if I’m accepted to the program. My mother says it’s because she couldn’t possibly imagine leaving me alone on a holiday, but I’m pretty sure they just want to hang out in WDW. But either way, on the subject, I’m extremely thankful for having a family that is so supportive.
So on the Disney theme of the day, tonight, I was sitting, petting my favorite cousin as he sat in my lap ( he’s my aunt’s precious cat, for the record… we’re not that kinda family), and I saw that The Man Behind the Myth was on TV and I obviously had to watch it. For those who don’t know, it’s a biographical special produced by… CNBC, I think… about the life of Walt Disney. I’d never caught the whole thing before, and in doing it now, it solidified every reason why I want to work for this company. To think that one man with a dream and a pencil, someone who just wanted to please his family and bring people together, started everything that the Walt Disney Company was and is and has become on a whim and with an idea… well, it’s mind-blowing. It’s heartwarming. It is pure magic, and I believe in it. You can achieve everything you’d ever dreamed possible if you work for what you want.
It got my mother and me talking. First we got into an argument over what happened to Walt after his death. My mother swore backward and forward that his body was frozen. I said no, he was cremated. When the documentary finally revealed that he was, in fact, cremated the topic of conversation turned to: “Well, if he was frozen and then they unfroze him and woke him up, what do you think he’d think of what his company turned into?”
First of all, we’re obviously very twisted people. Second, this was interesting to me. My mother says he’d totally freak out; his tiny little family-oriented company turned into this massive empire that was extremely capitalist and money-driven and not really family-oriented anymore.
So then I sat there with my mouth opened for a little while, and instead of yelling at her about not knowing what she was talking about, I politely and civilly begged to differ. While the Walt Disney Company owns half of the entertainment industry and is a huge financial empire (which is amazing in itself), I personally think that the company has never diverted from its path. I think it’s more in tune with Disney’s vision than ever. I think he’d be proud. The new industry that they’ve uncovered, the films that have reached out to every walk of life, the fact that multiple generations can bond over the same stories and places, setting the social standard in hospitality and service, having theme parks on three continents… I think… and I hope… that this is exactly what he would have wanted. At its roots, the Walt Disney Company is still bringing people together. And yeah, I’m thankful for that.
After that was over, the special on The Wizarding World of Harry Potter came on, and I realized that I am – hopefully -- roughly nine months away from getting a day off and going to Universal and hanging out in Hogsmeade. So, thankful for Orlando.
Then I turned on A Very Gaga Thanksgiving… and I cannot even begin to decipher my opinions on that one. Now The Big Bang Theory is on. I watch way too much TV. I’m really thankful for TV.
So anyway, go back into your tryptophan comas.
“I don’t know if I’m the new Picasso, but I’m certainly twisted like many of his paintings.” – Lady Gaga
No comments:
Post a Comment