Samantha Glennie: Life Keeps Getting “Curiouser & Curiouser

My experience has been everything but ordinary, it has been like I fell down a rabbit hole and ended up in this wonderland with everything upside down or sideways. When we arrived at Riverside, California it wasn’t the Hollywood glitz and glam place that I was picturing. It looked like we we’re walking down this dark, scary path but not trying to scare you, I actually miss living in Riverside.

Sometimes that beautiful garden that you want to see (like glitz and glam of Hollywood) is not always the better place. Instead of painting the rose’s red, I ended up meeting some of the craziest and “mad” characters that now I am proud to call my friends! We’ve already had so many tea parties and celebrated numerous un-birthdays with more exciting moments to come. It still feels like a dream to me, the fact I am living in Orlando, Florida working at the wonderful world of Disney. I am still waiting for someone to pinch me to wake up from this fantasy.

Unlike Alice I am not running away from something I am scared of, I am willingly running into the fear of the unknown embracing the impossible and possible. Anything can happen: I could come into counter with a grinning cat, or a smoking talking caterpillar trying to give me life lessons.

In this study abroad my goal is to find out the answer to the caterpillars question: “WhoOOO aRRRe yoUUUU?” As well as finding out what my “normal” size is? Who in the world am I? Will eating one side of the mushroom make me taller, braver and grow as a person? Or if I eat the other side of the mushroom, my fear is that I will shrink and hide/blend within the flowers? Even in a difficult predicament we try and run away from our fears, but sometimes there is nowhere to run and we must face what we are scared of because in the end of the fairy tale; what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

My advice to future students applying for study abroad is that things are never as they seem and you must be open minded to every situation that may cross your path. “It would be so nice if something made sense for a change” but that would make life too easier. Sometimes life throws mysterious drinks convincing you to drink them or cookies that persuade you to eat them. As a result, you could grow into a giant or shrink to a miniature size; which is similar to this trip.

Things can go whichever way it wants and you just have to be prepared for the consequences from the curious actions that are taken. This trip has already been nothing but unpredictable with signs directing me into an unidentified path with no indication of where it may end. Curiosity is pulling me to find out what comes next. So the question is where should I go next?

“That depends on where you want to end up” – Cheshire Cat