How Disney Influenced Me

Ever since I was young I was attracted to Disney. I loved the movie ‘Mulan’, Tarzan was my hero for a while, and ‘The Jungle Book’ singlehandedly sparked my passion for exploring. As a child I was a “wanderer” as my mom would put it. It got so bad that my parents started dressing me in neon clothing when we went out into public. Age six. New York State Fair. Disappeared for three hours. I was found at the petting zoo feeding llamas. My parents would tie me on a leash when we would go to very crowded areas. I was curious and couldn’t help myself. For as long as I could remember I had been inquisitive.

Anyways, Disney had its first real, visible impact on me when I went to Disney Land for the first time. I know this is such a cliché considering every child’s first time at a Disney theme park is magical and moving. But for me, the curious and adventurous little boy I was, Disney Land was the Mecca. There is this spirit that embodies Disney Land. An energy, an aura. Whatever terminology you use to describe it is trivial because you can’t help but feel it course through your veins when you walk through those magical gates. It is as if you are walking into a fairyland where anything is possible. You feel as if you can be there forever and this dream-like reality will never cease to amaze you. Overall, I can say my first trip to Disney Land instilled an everlasting thirst to explore and dream.

While as a youth, my everlasting thirst to explore an dream, would mainly consist of me wandering away from my parents at malls, markets, and museums, as I grew older my dreams of wandering the world started transforming into a reality. At first, I started with summer programs traveling the United States and Canada. However, when I was sixteen I graduated and was fortunate enough to go on a program to France, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands for the summer. While I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities to travel given to me by my parents, I still couldn’t seem to satisfy this desire to go on a more fulfilling adventure.

The summer before I started my endeavors at Duke, I convinced my parents to let me go on an adult community service trip to Vietnam. After about a week of teaching English, I left the program by myself. I then rented a motorcycle and drove around Vietnam, staying at hostels in various cities for the remaining three weeks. To an eighteen year old, backpacking Vietnam by himself may seem overwhelming, but not for me. I was ready. I had been ready for this life changing and humbling adventure since my first trip to Disney Land.