If I Never Knew You....

I once worked in a building that had inspirational quotes written all over the walls. I couldn't tell you what most of them said, but there was one in particular that struck a chord and has stayed with me ever since.

I can never remember exactly how it was worded, but the basic message was that you should appreciate every single person you meet- because no matter who or where they are, you could learn something from them.

At the time that I read it I was working for a man who hugely inspired me, and the idea that he might have learnt something from me blew my mind. I loved the idea. I loved the thought that at any given moment somebody could walk into my life and change me forever. Maybe not in a huge, film-ending obvious way: not the man that I'm going to marry or the woman that's going to sweep into my life and turn me into a pop star,  but a change nonetheless.

I had a boyfriend once who told me that even if we argued, broke up and never spoke again, a little piece of each of us would have been created by the other. That thought, like the quote, has stayed in my head ever since- what a lovely idea, that every person we meet leaves a little piece of themselves behind with us.

So this quote got me thinking- about a lot of things actually- but firstly about the many, many people who have had a huge effect on me, probably without realising at all....

1. Eudora.

Eudora is one of the kindest, most beautiful women I have ever been lucky enough to meet. When I was of a young and particularly impressionable age, her daughter- the same age as me- was discussing a school friend who was working as a model. Eudora responded by saying 'well it's quite easy for most of us to make ourselves up to look decent on a Saturday night but modelling's a whole other thing. No thank you very much.'

To hear such a beautiful woman say that to her equally beautiful daughter inspired me so much that eleven years later those words still echo around my head every time I even attempt to berate myself for not looking like Cheryl Cole.

A few years later I heard another gorgeous lady refuse dessert, explaining that she was thinking about her bikini, to which Eudora laughed, took a bite of delicious looking chocolate cake and said 'mm I'll just think about your bikini too'.

I'm sure she has no idea that I was even listening, let alone taking it on as my own attitude towards eating. Funny, isn't it?

2. My Fairy Godmother.

My Fairy Godmother inspired me in so many ways that I could not possibly list them all here, but the main thing for me was how caring she was. All the time. I was working for her, she didn't have to spend all day in an office then her evenings listening to her children's nanny's personal problems. She didn't have to invite the nanny's boyfriend over for dinner and drinks, and let him stay the night. She didn't have to buy the English nanny a whole keep-warm kit when she couldn't adjust to the weather. But she did. Whilst looking after her husband and her children and her mum and her brothers, and dealing with her own problems, she looked after the nanny as though she were one of her own.

Working for Disney I see a lot of exhausted mothers who have lost their spark by the time their children are past the age of eighteen months. I hope I'm like my Fairy Godmother- and, in fact, my own wonderful mother-when I have children, and just keep getting more sparkly with age :)

3. Mrs Potts.

It was one of our first days at university that Mrs Potts first inspired me. I had just come from college- a world where enthusiasm for anything was hugely discouraged by my peers, and therefore a world in which I spent two years attempting to keep my enthusiasm under wraps. In our first meeting, on our first day, my cynical lecturer, tired from years of trying to pull students out of their habits of feigning disinterest, asked us to think about whether we might like to be on the course council.

I, like everybody else (I imagine, anyway), kept my eyes firmly on the table in front of me and attempted to look disinterested while I secretly wondered what it would involve. Mrs Potts, on the other hand, didn't attempt to hide her face, nor did she throw her hand in the air and shout that she would love to do it, like I imagine the real teachers pets do (you know like Patty Simcox in Grease?). Instead she clearly and confidently stated 'I'd definitely be interested in that.'

I watched the lecturer smile in surprise and relief at the same time as I felt a tiny bud of regret at not having reacted in that way, and a small burst of determination that from now on, I would be myself and do it with such confidence that nobody could dare argue- a trait that I have now been complimented on myself many times.

Thanks Mrs Potts :)

4. Wise Old Owl.

Just over a year ago I met Pooh's wise old friend Owl, who wandered in and out of my life in under thirty minutes and so totally changed my view of Britain and the people in it that I spent a whole summer (and now in fact a whole year) celebrating my culture. Living in America has taught me that she was in fact right in more ways than I had realised, and I think about what she said almost every day.

5. Buzz Lightyear.

Buzz is one of the funniest people I have ever met. Only today, in fact, I found myself using one of her favourite one-liners in an attempt to make friends at work laugh. It's almost two years since I last saw Buzz, and her jokes are still in my head, and still being used.

6. Guest.

This lady played such a small character in my life that I cannot pinpoint exactly who she was and therefore could not possibly give her an alias. What I do know is that she was a guest in a resort that I was working in and that she actually changed the course of my life.

She asked me what I would be doing when I returned to the UK after the summer and I explained that I had no idea. I did not plan on staying in the UK very long but I had no idea what to turn to next.

She suggested that I try working as a nanny. She told me that my experience would make up for my lack of official nanny qualifications and that she didn't think I would find it too difficult.

At the time I thought it was a nice idea but did not particularly plan on doing anything about it.

As those of you who know me relatively well will know- I have now worked as a nanny for four families. Four families who each in their own way have changed me, and will each stay with me forever. Now I turned to nannying because of what that lady said to me. Perhaps it would have come about some other way,  but perhaps it wouldn't have. Perhaps that lady, whose name and face I don't even remember, unknowingly totally changed my life.

Now these are just a few examples of the hundreds and hundreds of people that have inspired me every single day for twenty four years to make me the person I am.

What has been on my mind a lot lately, however, is how easy it can be to underestimate someone because of the setting you meet them in.

One night I was eating dinner with the children that I was nannying for at the time, their parents, and a friend of their parents. I had been perfectly polite to the friend that was there for dinner, but had made no effort whatsoever to impress and, to be honest, hadn't take much notice of him. When the children asked me to explain the difference between a hamburger and cheeseburger, I (wrongly. Oh so wrongly) told them what I thought was the correct answer.

The friend that was there for dinner was, in fact, the owner of the biggest branch of Burger King in the world. Among something ridiculous like twelve other restaurants, his own chain, a couple of celebrities and an agency.

Not my finest hour.

But at least I had been polite to him all evening.

The reason that this has been on my mind so much lately is because I now work in Food and Beverage.

Until now I have worked either for an individual family on a personal basis, or in entertainment, and despite what Dirty Dancing may suggest, entertainment staff are treated far better than those working in Food and Beverage (from a guest point of view- obviously from a company point of view it depends who you work for.)

Luckily for me and my co-workers, the fact that we are British and have British accents sets us off with a great head start. As far as the majority of our guests are concerned, I left Downton Abbey (my parents' home) to work here; leaving behind my best friends Kate Middleton and Adele, my boyfriend Harry Styles and my part time job as Dr Who's assistant, all for a year abroad as part of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts.

Which makes me the coolest person they have ever met. They want their photos with me, they want me to repeat the words 'Peter Pan' and 'bottle', and they want to know whether I prefer Pink Floyd or The Beatles. Because I obviously have a really strong opinion on that.

However, part and parcel of working in Food and Beverage anywhere in the world (I imagine, anyway) is being spoken to like an idiot. As though you yourself have never been a guest in a restaurant, have never eaten, have never been served by another person and can therefore not possibly imagine what they are going through.

Now when I worked in Food and Beverage before, I accepted that. I didn't even get angry when I was spoken to like a moron (okay there was that one time when I cried but that was an exception). I was sixteen years old, the guests were all in their eighties, I accepted that they probably did know more about my job than I did and let them take whatever else they were angry about on me.

Today, however, is slightly different.

Today I work with people who were selected from thousands and thousands to move to America to work for the third best company in the world. 

The people that I work with in Florida are truly amazing. Every single person has an incredible story to tell. Each and every one of them has had awesome life experience. They've worked as restaurant and hotel managers, team leaders, care workers, dancers, singers, entertainers, accountants, air hostesses, writers, engineers, plumbers, customer service advisors, actors and chefs; they've got degrees coming out of their ears, huge job offers in the UK, they've worked on cruise lines, they've lived in France, Spain, California, Africa, Lapland, Egypt, Italy, Greece, Turkey...

I cannot explain how wonderful these people are. They're interesting and funny and clever and have so many stories to tell.

And I watch every day as certain guests see how special they are and learn from them, are inspired by them and change a little bit because they were lucky enough to meet them.

Then at the same time I see the guests that roll their eyes and ask their wives 'Is she speaking English?', referring to the girl with the English degree as though she is the stupid one. I see guests tell Dumbo- the girl who, at only twenty-two has lived in two states in America as well as London and her own home town, who has visited more states than I can list here and knows more about the world's history than I will ever know, who is loved by everyone that takes the time to get to know her because she's possibly the nicest person ever, and who has had a letter written into the company about how they feel that she personally changed their lives with her exceptional customer service- that she's stupid and knows nothing.

I see it happen every single day to every fantastic person that I work with.

In fact, on one occasion a guest explained to me- in a rather amused voice- that her four year old curtsies at everyone. Even, she leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, the cleaners. She mouthed the last word as though she were swearing. Do cleaners not deserve that then?

I have a friend who worked in entertainment one year and as a cleaner the next- both for Disney- and she actually preferred working as a cleaner despite the ridiculous lack of respect from certain guests.

Anyway, the point of this is not to point out how stupid and ignorant some people are, but to point out how amazingly wonderful people are, and how we should take the time to notice that.

I love the idea that I change every day thanks to the people around me, and will continue to remember that everyone has a back story that makes them who they are today, and that I could be a part of that back story tomorrow.

I just need to make sure that the little pieces of myself that I create in other people are the best ones :)

A Very Merry (Un)birthday...

On Wednesday 30th May 2012- the day that I turned twenty-three years old- I was lucky enough to be cooked for and serenaded by my wonderful grandparents. As my Grandma lay the cake in front of me, she said the three little words that I have heard on that date every year since 1990.

"Make a wish!"

You can probably guess what I wished for, and probably already know that it came true.

That's right- I wished for a job in Walt Disney World.

Fast forward to Thursday  30th May 2013 and I'm waking up smack back in the middle of my dream come true.

Luckily for me though, the birthday magic started a few days before that...

On Monday morning as I padded out of my bedroom, stretching my back and rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I noticed a small white box sitting on the sideboard.

"Happy birthday Rebecca, delivered by Tigger."

My heart leapt and my stomach did a little jump.

I ran back into my bedroom, threw myself onto the bed and began to open it, when my roommate saw me.

"You can't open that today! It's clearly for your birthday and your birthday's not until Thursday."

"Yeah I know...but the box is here today."

"But your birthday is on Thursday. Put it back."

Until this moment I honestly didn't know that there were people like this. In my world if the present's there today, open it today! Otherwise why didn't Tigger wait to deliver it on Thursday?

Still, my roommate was sitting right there so I couldn't exactly open it in front of her when she was so horrified at the idea. I put it back on the side and vowed to open it while she was at work.

For a while after that I didn't think too much about the box. I was excited to see what it was but it was obviously a present from my roommate who had been so strict about me not opening it yet.

Then I got to work, and during the quieter moments began to think about it.

What if it wasn't from her? What if Tigger really had delivered it? As someone who loves the idea of someone having been there (Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny never scared me!) the image of Tigger hopping through my apartment while I was asleep sent shivers of excitement up and down my entire body.

I pondered on all the possibilities and by the time I clocked out of work that evening I thought I would burst with excitement before Thursday.

I told the story to everyone who would listen and- to my absolute shock- was told by everyone that it was ridiculous that I was going to open it before my birthday. My protestations about it being my birthWEEK, about it being there labelled for me TODAY, fell on deaf ears.  Until I spoke to my mum. Who responded with 'Open it and tell me what it is!' Maybe it's just my family?

I also found that everyone denied any knowledge of it. My best friends, boyfriend, roommate, housemates...all claimed- very convincingly- that they knew nothing about it.

That night I raced home, ready to open it and discover what it was, only to find that my roommate was still home, and would be now until the early hours of the morning when she was due to go on holiday.

I would have to wait until tomorrow.

I went out that night (and had all kinds of adventures including crawling around on my hands and knees on a bus dressed in my America flag onesie- but that's a story for another time), and didn't get home to bed until 4.15am. I woke up at 9am- less than five hours later- and there was another box.

"Happy birthday Rebecca, delivered by Donald Duck."

I jumped around the room as though I had no control over my legs- this was too exciting. Who on earth had managed to put the box there in that unsociable-five-hour-gap?

This was real magic.

Who even knew me well enough to have done this? I'd only been here three and a half months, I honestly hadn't realised that anyone would know to do this for me.

Eternally grateful to my roommate for stopping me from opening the first box, I left the second one exactly where it was and decided I would open them on my birthday. Whoever was doing this had gone to a lot of trouble, I wasn't about to ruin it with my child-like impatience.

I woke up on Wednesday morning and ran out of my bedroom to discover....still just two boxes.

I talked about it all.day.long. 

And for the first time was working with someone who agreed that I should have opened the first one as soon as it appeared. He told me I should open them as soon as I got home from work and let him know what they were.

When I arrived home that night, there was a third box.

"Happy birthday Rebecca, delivered by Stitch."

Standing next to the box was Aladdin. Not the real Aladdin, but my Aladdin. They were from him. And despite the fact that it was now my birthday in the UK, I had to wait until the following morning to open them.

Aladdin still won't tell me how he got the boxes into my apartment at those weird hours. He insists that Mickey Mouse (the real one) organised the whole thing- that Tigger, Donald and Stitch really had crept into my apartment to leave the boxes for me, but- as always- Stitch got himself into a pickle and arrived late, so couldn't get into the front door while I was asleep as arranged. Instead, he had to wait until I had left for work and sneak in through the window. That- Aladdin tells me- is why there are two sections of my blind bent backwards.

Which is funny, because I had genuinely never noticed the dodgy section of the blind before.

Each of the boxes contained a charm for the beautiful charm bracelet that Aladdin bought me for my birthday, and each represents something magical from my life.

My 24th birthday was so wonderful, so magical and so filled with love that I could write a novel on everything that happened. But instead of boring you with every single treasured detail of that day, I'll just let you in on the most exciting ones....

1. At 5pm on Wednesday 29th May I was presented at work with a gorgeous, hand-made birthday card signed by everyone right down to the General Teller who works in the office upstairs. It was midnight in South Africa and, since that's where my gorgeous boyfriend and partner in crime is from, the logic was that my birthday had begun. It was so magical to me that everyone made such a big deal, and the fact that they hopped on board with my make-my-birthday-last-as-long-as-possible plan was amazing to me.

2. For those of you who don't know, I work with Pinocchio, and Pinocchio is infamous for his beautiful rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I had asked him to sing it to me for my birthday, but had long forgotten when he suddenly started to sing it. I looked at the time. 19.01. It was officially my birthday in the UK. It was off to a beautiful start.

3.  On Wednesday night I went to my favourite club, where I was totally spoiled with drinks, love and attention from everyone. There was one person in particular who made it extra magical and fuzzy around the edges with copious amounts of Whiskey and a seemingly endless supply of shots. That night will always remain a hazy memory of colourful drinks and his face.

And there was, of course, Drake Bell from the Nickelodeon show 'Drake and Josh' making a fuss of me which brightened my day in a way I will never be able to explain. That, paired with the fact that earlier that evening I spoke to Warwick Davis- actual Professor Flitwick, Griphook, Willow and pal of my hero Karl Pilkington- was the cherry on top of a huge, celebrity birthday cake.

4. On my birthday in 2012 I had opened my birthday presents alone in my room and hadn't seen another human being until 4pm. I really didn't want to do that again,  but as I was away from home I was concerned that it might be my only option. My roommate had gone away, Aladdin was working early and all my friends were working too. A couple of weeks before The Big Day I explained this fear to Dumbo, who told me immediately that I would not be alone. She would sort something. She and Merida arrived at my house at 9am with an array of croissants, pastries, dairy-free cupcakes and a delicious smoothie. They watched me open all of my cards and provided me with cards and presents of my own before dashing off to catch the bus to work. It was a wonderful morning and the two of them just made it perfect.

5. All of the cards and presents that I received from home were wonderful and each and every one of them will always be special to me. But there was one that I was not expecting and that has kept a smile on my face for the past three days. As many of you will know I have worked with children in a lot of different places in a lot of different jobs, but the first ever child that I looked after was when I was thirteen years old, and she was three. That gorgeous baby girl with her perfect curls and adorable dimples is now a fourteen year old Princess who was thoughtful enough to not only remember my birthday but to send a card all the way to America on time. I don't think I'll ever take it down.

6. An hour and a half later I was dancing around my room to N Sync (to It's Gonna Be Me if you're interested) when there was a knock at my door. I bounced to the front door in all my birthday excitement, threw it open and came face to face with Tigger (my friend Tigger, not the real one) holding a huge bunch of balloons with 'Happy Birthday Becca' written on them in one hand and an adorable card and promise to take me to see Blue Man Group in the other. Once again I felt my whole body want to burst with excitement at everything.

7. Tigger and I then got the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge to see Aladdin at work before heading to a restaurant that I'd been wanting to visit for ages for lunch. The food was amazing, the service was fantastic and Tigger did not stop making me laugh. When we had finished our dinner our server brought me over a free dessert with a candle in it. It was as Tigger uttered those famous words...make a wish...that I closed my eyes and felt them fill with tears. I live in Disney World. My presents were delivered by characters. I have amazing friends and family, I live in a beautiful apartment, I have my dream job...I have nothing to wish for.

At the stern-and-impatient look that I received from Tigger I quickly found a wish to make, but you'll have to wait until June 2014's post to find out whether it came true...

8. On our way out of the restaurant our server beckoned me over, telling me that there was a phone call for me. I half frowned, half laughed as we walked past the front desk but she insisted it was for me. Wondering who on earth it could be but knowing at the back of my mind that my friends knew I was here and I had no mobile phone signal, I reached for the phone and put it to my ear.

It was Goofy. Actual, real Goofy, saying he'd heard it was my birthday and he wanted to sing to me. So he did. Can you imagine how magical that was?

9. After lunch, Tigger and I went to Animal Kingdom to do what I think is the best thing that you can do in the whole of Walt Disney World: The Lion King Show. It was, as always, spectacular, and watching it with Tigger who had never seen it before made it extra special. We then had an hour to wait until Finding Nemo the Musical started, so we went to meet Up's Doug and Russell.

As soon as Russell saw my big blue birthday badge he began jumping up and down and signalling to the character attendant. The character attendant explained- also very excitedly- that Russell wanted the entire queue to sing Happy Birthday to me. He conducted the group with his hands as they sang very loudly and beautifully to me and Doug pretended to lick my face.

I work in Walt Disney World, I know that almost every group seems to have a birthday in it: I was far from the only person celebrating a birthday that day. But what Russell did that day made me feel like I was the only person to have a birthday this year. I will never be able to explain how wonderful it was.

10. We then met up with Aladdin, Alice and the Mad Hatter and proceeded to watch Finding Nemo The Musical before moving to my favourite Disney hotel- The Polynesian Resort- to have dinner, watch Lilo and Stitch on the beach then view the Magic Kingdom fireworks. Just before the film started, one of the Resort Activity Reps asked everyone what they had been up to today. When all twelve of the people that had turned up to celebrate with me shouted 'Rebecca's birthday', the rep naturally called me to the front and made me spin like a ballerina while everyone sang to me. I won't even try to pretend I didn't love every second.

11. By the time I arrived home from the Polynesian I was exhausted. Apparently there are photos on phones of me sleeping on the bus. Someone thought it was funny.

I vowed to get ready for bed and go straight to sleep, but as soon as I saw my laptop looking invitingly up at me I thought I'd just check to see if I had any important emails (and by that I mean Facebook birthday wishes). I'm so glad I checked. On there was a video posted of Boo, the little girl that I was nannying for before I came to Disney World. But an older version of her. She was singing happy birthday to me. I miss Boo so much more than I can explain to anyone- she was my best friend and the person I spent all my time with for three months, and hearing her little voice again finished my birthday in the most perfect way possible.

12. Two nights before my birthday Aladdin let me know that I needed to keep Friday free for my present. All week I tried to work out what on earth it could be but to no avail- I had absolutely no idea at all. Friday morning came and passed- I still didn't know. Then Friday afternoon he arrived at my front door. With tickets. To Cirque Du Soleil.

I would never, ever, have guessed that that would be my present.

It was absolutely amazing. If you have never been, go.

We spent the entire night totally aware that our mouths were hanging open but unable to close them, then for hours afterwards we would just randomly say 'Ooh and the bit when...'

Fantastic.

And now it's June and the countdown to my next birthday has begun...

To every single person that was involved in this one: thank you. Everything from the wonderful video that my mum made of herself singing Happy Birthday, to the card in which my baby brother was thoughtful enough to write 'Keep It Magical', and The Lorax that my wonderful roommate thought to leave on my bed with a note in French was just perfect. I'm so grateful for everything that's happened in the last week and to every single person from all over the world who thought of me and made an effort.

So twenty-four has been the best birthday yet. Here's to the best year...

That's What Friends Are For

I had been in Florida for four weeks when I ventured over to Universal with a group of princesses that I work with. We were chatting over an IHOP breakfast (my first ever: if you've never experienced it I highly recommend going) when Rapunzel and Cinderella- princesses who have been here far longer than I have- said the exact words that I needed to hear.

"You won't feel settled yet. You probably don't and you're probably beating yourself up for the fact because it feels like you've been here forever. Week eight is the week that you settle. You'll see."

The fact that Rapunzel had just casually mentioned it over eggs and pancakes while Cinderella sipped her coffee and nodded profusely in the background meant a lot to me- they had been here too. I was not alone. 

For the rest of that day- and probably for the rest of that week- I found that thought reassuring. I had another four weeks to go before I should feel settled. I still had time. 

Then one day I was sitting on the bus when Dumbo unexpectedly got on too. We discussed the previous night's events, arranged dinner plans for that evening, moaned about American food and laughed at ridiculous things that only we would find funny. She then stopped for coffee, leaving me to continue my journey alone. I skipped to work, bumping into three different people I knew on the way. I breezed into the backstage area and shouted hello to everyone I saw before going on stage and working with a smile for the rest of the day. 

When my work day finished I decided to grab a drink from the UK Pavilion and wander around Epcot's World Showcase with it- perhaps stopping to share my culture and try some foreign food. I had promised my best friends that I would cook for them that night so planned to wait for them to finish work so that we could pop to the supermarket and get food together before returning to my apartment to eat. 

What actually happened was that I got so carried away drinking my cider in the sun and looking at the beautiful countries that by the time I got to Italy I could barely string a sentence together and sent an embarrassingly sentimental text to Dumbo and Tigger that I'm sure is going to be read out regularly in an effort to make me cringe. 

Thankfully a bottle of water and an English Bay Sugar Cookie managed to lessen the effects and I made it to the supermarket and back to mine without embarrassing myself much further.

On arriving at mine with the ingredients that I had genuinely intended to cook for everyone, I soon discovered that I had accidentally let myself become hangry. Now for those of you who don't know,  hanger is a condition that affects a small percentage of the population. Caused by a lack of food, it results in cruel words and occasional seemingly unreasonable tears. 

People who do not suffer with hanger on a regular basis tend not to take it seriously. Even my absolute best friends from home refused to worry about it until Pumbaa and I went on holiday together in 2008 and she had to experience the full of effects of my condition without back-up. They've fed me at three hour intervals ever since. 

So as I was heating the pan in preparation for cooking for Tigger and Dumbo, I hadn't actually realised what was happening until Dumbo gave me a look. 

She stepped in front of the stove, took the pan from me and said 'You're hangry. Sit down. I'll cook.' 

Tigger didn't even react. He got another pan from the cupboard and busied himself with the sauce. 

I sat down with a drink, and watched them cook. In my kitchen. They didn't ask where anything was, if they could use anything: they made themselves perfectly at home. 

They put the dinner in front of me, I took one bite and- that was it. The spell was broken. I was no longer hangry. 

We laughed for the entire night. 

I shut the door behind them at one the following morning, smiling to myself. 

And that was the moment. 

The moment that I realised that I was smack bang in the middle of week eight. And I was settled. 

Three weeks later I had another moment: the first moment that it really hit me that I was in America. Not just abroad, not just in Disney World, or even Florida, but America. 

Obviously I knew I was in America. I had spotted the endless differences from the UK (the food, the television, the funny way they pronounce Parmesan), but it wasn't until I walked into a five-thousand-person private pool party held at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park that I really registered: I am in America now. 

Huge groups of bikini-clad girls were squealing in excitement, lads were flying out of the flumes with their fists in the air, rows and rows of heads were disappearing as the wave pool swept them away, spotlights flashed on the beach where hundreds of people were doing The Macarena on the sand-dance-floor. The whole place was vibrating with the volume of the music, the air smelt like a surprisingly brilliant combination of catered food and chlorine, and almost every single person was sporting something they had won: an eye patch, a bandanna, a big hat: you name it, if it was pirate themed- you could see it. 

It was like every American teen movie you've ever seen.

I didn't even know things like this happened in real life. 

I loved it. 

For the first five minutes. 

But in those first five minutes that's exactly how it felt: like I was watching an American teen movie. Not taking part in it. 

Then I bumped into Woody and Russell. 

The second I saw them I stepped into the movie. Woody was wearing a bright red hat and the biggest, cheesiest grin I have ever seen, and Russell was wearing a gorgeous beach dress and enveloped me immediately in a hug whilst shouting 'waheeey here she is!'

I spent the rest of what I think was my favourite night in America so far with a combination of Woody, Russell, Aladdin, Dumbo, Tigger, Piglet and many, many more brilliant characters. 

The music was amazing. The rides were awesome. The heated pools were fab. Meeting Captain Jack Sparrow was...actually a bit scary. The fireworks, the beach, the dancing, the N-Sync impersonators...I could go on forever- everything was so well organised, everything was in place for the perfect night. 

But without the company of all of these wonderful people from all over the world- it would have meant nothing. 

The same as my time here in America would mean nothing.

Walt Disney famously said 'You can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.'

So this is me being grateful for every single person who has helped make my dream a reality; and ensured that my reality is every bit as wonderful as my dream.

Thank you :) 

Keep It Magical

The other day Aladdin ended his text to me with the line 'keep it real.' I sat on the bus grinning like the Cheshire Cat as I explained that I have never been, and will never be, cool enough to 'keep it real.'

A few minutes later he replied that I was right. He told me instead to 'Keep It Magical.'

In those three words I feel that he totally summed my attitude. If I didn't think that I'd be disowned from my family forever I'd get those words tattooed on me somewhere.

When I worked as an Activity Instructor at a holiday resort I felt that the most important thing was that the children could temporarily suspend reality enough to feel like they really were learning to be Cowboys in the Wild Wild West; that the clues that they were searching for really had been left by a pirate; that the evidence that they found in Cool Detectives really had been found for the first time by them.

When I was nannying I felt the same- the best part of it for me was inventing characters for the children to know and love and believe in.

When I was asked at my Disney interview what I liked most about my job I told a story.

On my first day as an activity instructor there were two empty drainpipes leaning against the wall. When the first two children came tearing into the garden in excitement, their immediate and totally natural response was 'OH MY GOODNESS! THERE ARE TWO CANNONS HERE- A PIRATE'S BEEN!'

That was the moment that I realised that working with children is for me.

No adults I had ever worked with (at this point) would have had that natural reaction.

Since that position I have gone for jobs as a nanny, an entertainer, a birthday party princess and in Disney World, and until Aladdin sent me that text I had not realised that the one thing that every job has in common is that they involve Keeping It Magical.

Three months ago I wrote a blog post describing my attempts to 'Spread The Joy.'

Since that post I have continued to make an effort to make people smile; but with a Magical Disney twist.

And one of my favourite things about working for Disney is that they not only allow this but they encourage it.

 Which, in turn, means that when I go to play in the parks on my days off I can experience the magic myself.

Here are a few of my favourite examples....

1. Real Magic.

I recently went for breakfast at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa (as amazing as it sounds, I assure you). As we were among the first to arrive we were lucky enough to be able to watch the children in front of us say the magic word in order to unlock the door to the restaurant.

The magic word was 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.'

And as the two small girls shouted the words- 'poof!'- the door opened and Mary Poppins was standing in the doorway.

Real Magic.

2. Inexplicable Magic.

The following day Dumbo and I went for lunch at the Beast's Castle (I've eaten in my apartment approximately three times since I moved in). We checked in for lunch, ordered, then wandered round to explore the castle while we waited for our food. We could have been in any room in the huge castle yet somehow they knew exactly where to bring our food. When I asked the server, he smiled and said 'You know this is an enchanted castle ma'am', before winking and disappearing.

A week later I watched Beauty and the Beast and I genuinely felt like I had been inside that film a few days before.

Amazing.

3. Little things.

A few weeks ago I was out for breakfast when the waitress began pouring glasses of orange juice for everyone. Having seen what it's like to work in food and beverage for Disney I decided against announcing my allergy to oranges to everyone: it's a big deal backstage if an allergy's known and I didn't want to do that to the lovely lady looking after us that day. So instead I just covered my glass and said no thank you.

She smiled and offered me tea or coffee instead.

Which in itself would have been perfect service.

A few moments later she appeared with a large glass of water for me instead.

Just like magic.

I'm still thinking about that glass of water a month later: she's probably so used to making small magic every day that she didn't even notice how special it was.

4. Personal Magic.

A couple of weeks ago Aladdin and I went to watch Disney's Electrical Parade in Magic Kingdom. As Cinderella's beautiful carriage went by, the princess smiled and waved as usual then pointed at the girl next to me and mouthed 'Happy Birthday.'

Of all the things that her parents may have paid for in Disney World: a special dinner, presents, merchandise, that moment is the number one thing that that little girl will remember about her birthday- about any of her birthdays- something that was free of charge and just took two people to make happen: the genius who created the birthday badges for guests to wear, and Cinderella, who went to the effort of looking for the badge and pointing it out.

That day she could have smiled and waved easily and made everyone's day magical. But she chose to make that child feel extra special- something that she will treasure probably for the rest of her life.

5. Extra Magic.

I wasn't actually there for this story but I feel the need to share it anyway- I know you'll appreciate it.

Ella was five years old and had spent five years reading, watching and falling in love with the characters of Winnie the Pooh. So when she came to Walt Disney World her number one priority was getting an Eeyore soft toy. She had waited and waited to get it, and when she did she carried him everywhere around the park like her new best friend.

As Ella, her parents and her grandparents were skipping along the streets of Epcot, Eeyore leapt out of Ella's arms and straight into the path of her Grandma's electric wheelchair where he was promptly torn apart.

Luckily at that moment Lucy was walking past. Lucy was an Epcot Cast Member who happened to be a stuffed animal doctor. She knelt down beside Eeyore and checked his pulse. It was still there. She lifted him carefully and took him in to first aid.

After a worrying fifteen minutes in the waiting room, Ella sighed in relief then squealed in excitement as Eeyore was wheeled out in his own wheelchair with his arm in a sling and a bandage across his eye.

I will remember this story forever and I wasn't even there- can you imagine how magical that was for Ella and her family?

I imagine she'll be telling that story into her eighties.

Magic happens all the time in Walt Disney World- I see it every single day: at work, on my way home, on my days off, and then I get home and hear stories of magic happening from my friends and housemates.

Before I came to Disney my Grandma said that she wondered how I would face the real world after being here for a year.

I later said to my mum that I was sure I would be fine- I'm only working in Disney, I'm still exposed to the real world here.

But actually, the more time I spend here the more I think my Grandma might have been right.

Last week I ventured to the supermarket and a UPS store and took a taxi home.

The whole experience was so un-magical- everyone I encountered was rude and unhelpful and I felt like I had ruined everyone's day by even leaving my house. When I was almost home I got a text from Aladdin saying he had sent Tinkerbell to give me a hug.

 When I got back to Disney housing I was so traumatised that I poured the whole story out to security with tears in my eyes.

Guess what the Disney Security Guard did?

She gave me a big hug and told me that my day would get a whole lot better now.

So Tinkerbell really did get the message.

That one morning spent outside of Disney showed me that I'm already so used to magic that I struggle with the real world, and I don't know if Tinkerbell can send messages all the way back to Essex....

So I was thinking, maybe we should all add magic to our attempts at Spreading the Joy.

Maybe if we all injected a little bit of magic into everyday life Disney would no longer be the happiest place on Earth because the Earth would be a happy place.

Maybe I'm not going to change the world with my attempts at magic.

But Aladdin, Dumbo and far too many other cast members to name have made my world- and the worlds of millions of others- a magical place to be. And that counts for a lot.

So as you go about your daily life- Spreading the Joy and making people smile- consider the effect that you could have on those around you- and Keep It Magical :)

Just Imagine....

In March 2003 my PSHE class was set the task of writing an essay on where we hoped to find ourselves in ten years.

It wasn't supposed to be fantasy, we weren't allowed in any way to use our imagination (God forbid let children be creative) : it had to be a realistic view of what we wanted to achieve in the ten years leading to our twenty-fourth birthdays.

I still clearly remember writing mine and presenting it confidently to my form tutor, with absolutely no doubt as to whether it would come true. It would. It was what I wanted more than anything and I would make it come true.

Yep, by the time I was twenty-four I was definitely going to be….

An engaged travel agent.

Why would I ever want to be anything else?

I can still see the image I had in my head that day. I pictured walking home from work in the Going Places uniform, letting myself into a flat where my lovely fiancé ( a specific lad that I sat with in Science and who I still bump into in Asda every now and again) would just be serving up Spaghetti Bolognese and a glass of wine (because by the time I turned twenty-four I’d definitely like wine), and we’d  romantically eat it over a candle lit table before meeting our friends (the same best friends from school- with their same current boyfriends) for a sophisticated evening of wine tasting and French films.

My teacher put on that ‘Ooh, fancy!’ voice that they do when they’re trying to be down with the kids and talk about boyfriends and said ‘An engaged travel agent! Well that sounds very good, Rebecca, I think you could do that.’

‘I will’, I replied confidently.

And now here we are. Ten years later. March 2013.

I did walk home from work on Friday night and let myself into my lovely flat.

But instead of sitting down to a romantic home-cooked meal I dashed around to get ready to go out for dinner.

I did meet my friends but they were new friends- friends that didn't all grow up in Essex and go to my school and remember the time that I wore bin bags all day for charity (why do these things seem like such a good idea at the time?!), we did have a few drinks (pomegranate lemonade for me though because- shock horror- I still don’t like wine), and we did watch a film. But it was in English. And not quite so sophisticated as some French films.

Okay it was Aladdin. 

And instead of spending my day at work booking people’s holidays, I spent my day at work on people’s holidays.

I walked in to work with the sound of A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes floating through the air, and on my way bumped into Duffy the Disney Bear, a few princesses and a lot of Minnie ears.

Throughout my day I was working  directly opposite Alice in Wonderland, who was meeting people who had travelled from all over the world to see her.

To my left was Mary Poppins, doing the same thing.

Christopher Robin lives in the building that was to my right, and Winnie the Pooh  and Tigger were in there playing for the day.

I then walked home through the crowded audience watching a Canadian band, listening to their music and dodging dancing couples as I did so. 

On Saturday morning I got up early and made my way to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

In March 2003 that world was, as it is to most people my age, a big deal. Back then it only existed in people's imaginations but it very much existed. It came with me to the beach in the summer, the fire side in the winter, on buses, trains, planes and car journeys. 

Since I've been in Florida it has given me the opportunity to speak to people from all over the world that I would otherwise have nothing in common with. 

Then on Saturday it became real. 

I walked straight into my own imagination and could see, touch, smell, hear and even taste the things that I had imagined since I first found Hogsmeade in 2003. 

All I could think the whole time was: 

This came from one woman's mind. 

How did one person manage to create a whole, wonderful, believable, magical world that almost everyone can relate to?

Just as I was marveling at this, I walked into the next world along from Harry Potter's, and my mind was once again blown. 

Dr Seuss World.

I walked along and took in all my favourite characters, quotes and images from The Cat In The Hat, The Lorax, The Grinch and, my favourite book of all time ever- Oh! The Places You'll Go. 

Those of you who know me well will know that the child in me lives quite close to the surface anyway. But as I walked through a second world of characters that had- until now- only lived in my imagination, I felt the child in me wriggling to get out. 

I could quite happily have galloped around Dr Seuss World shouting 'Wow!' and 'I want that!' at everything, knocking over other guests and jumping right in everyone's way. 

Luckily, the Nanny in me took over just in time and I told myself I could have a Cat In The Hat biscuit if I promised to calm down for the rest of the day. 

Since working in Disney World I have learnt a lot about Walt Disney, and he has recently joined J.K Rowling and Dr Seuss on my list of heroes. 

The idea of creating a world in which you can meet the characters of your imagination and be physically inside the worlds that had, until then, only existed in your mind just blows me away. 

I have met a surprising number of people working here that love Disney for the rides rather than for the characters or the setting. For me, Disney World has always been about the characters. For me, it's about dreams literally coming true. This is a world in which you can actually meet Cinderella and Prince Charming, a world where it's normal to bump into Mickey Mouse walking down the street, and where children get to meet their heroes every single day of the week. 

Most of all, this is a place where imagination is the most important thing ever. 

If it wasn't for imagination, the characters would never have existed, the park itself would never have existed, and the magic would not continue to make people's lives every single day. 

I wonder, had I been allowed to use my imagination and creativity that day in March 2003, whether I still would have said that by twenty-four I'd be an engaged travel agent? 

Probably not. 

I wonder whether I would have said that my life would involve being friends with Mickey Mouse, spending days off in Hogsmeade and my evenings at Cinderella's Castle? 

Also probably not. 

Walt Disney once famously said 'You're dead if you only go for kids. Adults are only kids grown up anyway.'

So I'm not the adult I thought I would be. I'm not engaged, I don't own a flat, like wine or speak French. But my world is happy and magical and exciting every day. 

Childhood is wasted on children anyway, right?

I'm taking mine now :) 

At Last I See The Light

So this time two weeks ago I was sitting in my Minnie-Mouse-clad kitchen, surrounded by (almost) all of my favourite people; raising a glass and shedding a few bittersweet tears over the fact that I was about to embark on the year of my dreams.

And now here I am. Curled up on the sofa eating cheese on toast, watching The Princess Diaries and writing my first stateside blog. Living the dream.

As sarcastic as that may sound- I'm actually being genuine.

Somebody from home told me that he worries about me every day. Not because of the high rate of gun crime in America. Not because of the threat of Mother Nature in this part of the world. But because this has been my dream for so long that he fears that it won't live up to my expectations, and that that disappointment could be far more dangerous for me than any American politics.

Luckily I have been able to assure him that- at least two weeks in- the dream is coming true and even exceeding expectations.

Not everything is as I predicted though.

I had prepared myself for Disney. I had prepared myself for basic housing (something that has far exceeded my expectations), and I had prepared myself for the usual culture shock that comes with moving abroad.

What I had not prepared myself for was just how huge the culture shock would be.

America is different from England.

A lot more different than I expected.

Until now all of my knowledge of American culture has come from a combination of Friends, Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives; and somehow I had never registered that America does actually exist outside of the television, and a lot of the ridiculous things that appear on these programmes are actually a part of real life here....

1. Country and Western Bars.
Last night I was lucky enough to visit one very similar to the one that the characters from Desperate Housewives often frequent. Yep- they actually exist. Almost everyone was wearing stetsons and boots, there was free beer, and we spent the evening line dancing to a combination of country and western and Pit Bull.

Surreal.

That would never happen in the UK.

2. Outrageous food portions.
On my first night here we went out for dinner in Hooters (who knew they actually existed outside of Big Daddy?!) and I ate all of mine.
On finishing I looked up to find that everybody else had eaten less than half. 

Everyone laughed and commented that I must have been starving: I actually wasn't, I'm just very well trained in eating all of my dinner. I have since come to accept that wasting copious amounts of food every meal time is a part of life here- if I tried to eat everything I was given by the time I arrived home to be Minnie Mouse's bridesmaid my dress would be unlikely to fit my little finger.

There are also (don't judge me for saying this) outrageously huge people. I have never, in the twenty-three years and nine months that I spent living in Europe, seen anyone as big as people are here. I didn't even know they made clothes that big. Crazy.

3. No care for the environment whatsoever. At least in Florida.
The staff in Walmart use a plastic bag per item, there are no recycling facilities outside of Disney and, as mentioned, they waste food like there's too much of it in the world. Seems a bit ridiculous that we all go to so much effort in our little corner of the world really.

4. Random Applause.
I love this one. I don't know for definite whether it's America or Disney- but based on my minimal research I do believe it's fairly standard in America to clap and cheer for everything. During my training we would watch boring video clips about health and safety- and even on one occasion stealing- and when it finished everyone would clap and cheer like we were front row in a Beyonce concert. Hilarious. I'd love to bring it home with me because it does really lift the spirits but I think in Britain we might be a bit more comfortable with an 'ooh that was a lovely video, cup of tea?'

5. Bedding.
Bedding is so confusing. I was under the (misguided) impression that although they referred to bed sheets in sitcoms, they did actually mean duvets because Ross has one in Friends.
He doesn't. I'm thinking of suing.
What Ross has is a comforter- a thin duvet that doesn't have a cover.

I decided that would be fine. I would just buy sheets to put on the comforter so that it was more like a duvet. But they weren't duvet-covering sheets like I expected, but just random, thin, uncomfortable-shiny-material sheets to sleep under. So now the gorgeous Minnie Mouse sheets that I paid a small fortune for are hidden under my comforter anyway.

America might be ahead with a lot of things but they are definitely behind when it comes to bedding.

6. Disgusting supermarket items.
When it comes to food, you can buy more or less anything in Walmart. They even still sell Starburst Joosters over here (my all time favourite sweets- that moment in Walmart might have been a highlight of the whole year), but with those come some fairly repulsive options. Sachet of blue cheese anyone? Box of dried macaroni cheese? Beef Jerky? Or my personal favourite- and the most popular snack sold in the whole of Walt Disney World- giant turkey leg?
Who thinks of this stuff? And more to the point- who buys it?! 

7. Serious lack of understanding when it comes to sarcasm.
This has put me in a couple of awkward situations already.

During Disney training they announce approximately five hundred million times that THE DRINKING AGE IN AMERICA IS 21.

So when my Canadian roommate- who has been here for seven months already- asked me how training was going and mentioned that it can be a bit repetitive, I responded 'yeah it's going well thanks, but I feel like they haven't told us the drinking age enough yet- I can still never remember.' Her answer? 'Oh it's 21'.

In her defence it is the lowest form of wit.


It's not just the lifestyle either. The language used here is surprisingly different. Not just the obvious ones- trash can, sidewalk, parking lot- but a few others as well...

1. Chips: crisps.
Okay this is a fairly obvious one, but it didn't make it any less disappointing when I asked for a side order of chips with my dinner and got a bowl of crisps.

2. Spot: parking space.
At the risk of sounding patronising I find this one adorable. There's nothing like hearing an adult saying 'oh we're okay, there are plenty of spots here.' So cute. 

3. Elliptical: cross trainer.
This one is so far away from what we would say that when one of the girls told me that she was aching because she'd been on the elliptical the night before I made a mental note to avoid that ride in the Magic Kingdom.

4. Romper: Playsuit.
I do prefer playsuit but somehow romper sounds a lot more fun....what do you think?

5. Faucet: Tap.
No idea where this came from. Not even a little bit alike.

6. Go ahead.
This is just added by Americans to the beginning of a sentence telling you to do something. This featured a lot in our training because we were so often being told what to do. 'Now you can just go ahead and write your name on it' was said so many times that I thought it might creep into my own vocabulary, but I'm not convinced that I could pull it off in my Essex accent.

Since I've been here I've found a few phrases that I would love to pick up but that I know would just never be the same in my accent...

1. Y'all.
I love this. It's casual and affectionate and sounds lovely. If you're from Florida. If you're from Chelmsford it sounds more like Yule. As in the chocolate cake you have at Christmas. Maybe I won't start using it.

2. Critters.
This isn't so much a phrase I'd like to pick up, but a word that can definitely only be said in an American accent. I won some last week and had to change my accent to sound like I was from New York every time I gloated about them.

3. Real.
Yesterday as we floated down the Lazy River in Typhoon Lagoon Ariel said: 'This is real.' Ariel is actually from Southampton but does an amazing American accent so can pull of ridiculous phrases like that. I'm determined to get there before the year is up.

4. Good Job!
When I lived in Italy I worked with a lot of Americans who used this with the children and I loved it, but- like the other phrases I've mentioned- it sounds ridiculous when I say it. It's so much more re-affirming than 'well done', especially when it's followed by....

5. Buddy.
'Good job buddy!' sounds so much better than the Essex equivalent- 'well done babes.' Don't you think?

I'm aware that it sounds like I'm being fairly negative in this post- trust me- I'm not. I absolutely love America so far. I love that kids are excited to meet me because I sound 'just like the characters from Harry Potter!', and that adults are excited to get me to repeat the words 'Peter' and 'Darling' (who knew that was all you needed to impress Americans?), I love the lifestyle, the weather, the enthusiasm and the magic that comes from working in The Happiest Place On Earth.

But most of all I love the people that I have been lucky enough to meet here. I have only been here two weeks and already I have met and exchanged stories with people from all around the world. I've heard about amazing lives, incredible experiences and met wonderful people, and already feel that I have made genuine friends in Ariel, Crush, Roo, Snow White, Aladdin and many more.

Exactly one year ago I wrote that I was changing my tactics when it came to getting a job in Disney World. I was going to abandon the other characters and take advice from a new, more determined one: Rapunzel.

It worked.

After all these years of dreaming, finally, I'm standing here. And it's crystal clear: I'm where I'm meant to be.

Here's to a whole year of weird food, crazy clapping and magic making....

How exciting :)

A Spoonful Of Sugar

As a creature of habit (something I'm fairly sure I get from my Grandad), I've thrown even myself by deciding to do a second blog post this month. But following an unexpected experience with my New Year's resolution this year I felt compelled to write.

Now I know that, given my imminent move to Florida, my resolution should probably have been along the lines of 'get abs of steel ready for the beach' or 'stop spending money on  ridiculous, unnecessary things', but something that happened at the end of 2007 stopped that.

On 31st December 2007 I was at a party when Don't Stop The Music by Rihanna came on. At this point I had danced Latin and Ballroom between the ages of seven and sixteen, but had stopped when it started affecting my wild social life and vowed to go back when I passed my driving test.

Those of you who know me well will know that I didn't pass my driving test until the day I moved to Coventry and so never did go back to my dance classes.

When that song came on at the very end of 2007 Daisy Duck- another dancer- grabbed my hand and launched into a cha cha cha with me.

I loved every second and remembered how much I loved dancing- and was hugely encouraged by my Essex Knight who insisted that I should start it up again.

That, therefore, became my resolution for 2008.

That decision was far more significant than I ever could have realised.

It took a lot of research but after a series of googling, phone calls, texts and emails I was informed that as a Coventry student I was entitled to dance for The University Of Warwick- and that I should contact their team captain for details.

I did, and it changed the entire course of my university experience. It took over my world- it became far more important to me than my degree, introduced me to some of the most amazing people I have ever met and is one of the things that I am proudest of about my four years in the Midlands.

That resolution not only changed things for me in itself, but it also inspired me to make an original, exciting and realistic resolution every year.

So since then I have started a diary (which is now in its fifth year), got a graduate job, worked in five different countries and learnt to juggle.

This year my resolution came to me in December.

I was struggling up the huge hill that I lived on with Boo's family, breathless with the effort of pushing the buggy and managing to say 'yes you're right that is a car' to my excited two year old charge, when a man walked past me- a total stranger in his seventies at least. As he passed he smiled and said 'I hope you don't mind me saying but you are beautiful. Pretty as a painting.'

What a lovely thing to do. That passing comment made me smile for the rest of the day, and I found I suddenly had plenty of energy for the trek up the hill.

As I continued toward the Under Threes Club I started thinking. I probably think positive things about people around fifty times a day.

I spend so much of my time thinking how beautiful people are, how nice their clothes are or how thoughtful they are. Yet I very rarely say them out loud.

I've had endless conversations with Pumbaa about how stunningly beautiful Minnie Mouse is- how many times have I actually told her? Aside from when she was trying on wedding dresses, very rarely actually.

Cowgirl Jessie is officially the nicest, most thoughtful, empathetic and kind person I have ever met. The Irish Prince knows that because we frequently discuss the fact. Have I ever discussed it with Jessie herself? Of course not.

Pumbaa is the most down to earth, funny-but-totally-unaware-of-it and loyal friend I have ever been lucky enough to have. My mum often comments on this. To me. Not to Pumbaa.

I'm sure I'm not alone here: you do it too, don't you?

So I decided that this year my resolution would be to start saying the nice things that I think aloud.

Then on 3rd January I bought my favourite magazine and discovered that the message in the editor's letter was 'Spread The Joy'. She asked her readers to join her in an experiment and attempt to shift the national mood from misery to happiness. She then quoted some celebrities on their amazing ideas of how to brighten someone's day.

Following that Buzz Lightyear- one of the most glamorous people I have ever met (and she lived in a tent when I knew her)- posted two life-affirming, world-cheering ideas from different articles that she had read on my Facebook wall.

I felt like the world was coming at me from all directions telling me: make the world a happier place Rebecca. 

This, combined with the fact that I am moving to Disney World this year (in 16 sleeps)- where it will be my job to make every day magical- led me to change my resolution and participate in the kind of social experiment that Glamour's Editor suggested.

Now I don't want you to think that because I actively decided to start being nicer to people it cannot be sincere. I like to think that I am quite a nice person anyway: I had made the resolution to start saying nice things out loud before I even bought Glamour, and know that Buzz only sent me those articles because she knew they were both things that I would be likely to do. I would only ever give compliments that I genuinely mean (I wasn't complimentary about every wedding dress that Minnie Mouse tried on- trust me) and I already love making people smile- if I didn't I wouldn't be going to work in Disney.

I didn't set out to complete a certain number of nice things per day or per week, nor did I plan when and where I would do each thing- I just tried to be more aware of opportunities to make people smile, and instead of being scared or embarrassed to do them- grabbed the chances and ran with them.

I often found myself stopping and thinking: is this weird?

Then imagined somebody doing the same thing for me, and found every time that I wouldn't find it weird at all, it would just make me smile. 

In hindsight I have divided them into three general categories in order to be able to explain them clearly....

1. Saying Things Aloud

As I've already mentioned this all started with my vow to say the nice things that I so often think aloud. I realised by doing this that I do tell people how beautiful they look on a night out, but rarely say any of the other positive things I think....

a) I know that this probably doesn't count as out loud but I noticed that I leave each of the clubs that I take Boo to every week thinking about the wonderful job that the staff do. If I feel a bit stupid at Rhyme Time sometimes- how must the lady who has to face a room full of the scariest type of human- mothers- and lead them in If You're Happy And You Know It feel?

I always made the effort to go and say that we enjoyed it at the end but even I couldn't find the words to say 'You're amazing at your job' out loud without crossing into uncomfortably cheesy territory.

So instead I made them each a card and wrote in it that I thought they did a wonderful job and hoped they knew how much they were appreciated. I then left them on counters in the various groups to be found after we had left.

b) I saw a lady in town one day wearing a beautiful red jumper and the second I saw it my mind shouted 'Wow. She looks gorgeous.' So, remembering my vow, instead of thinking it and walking away, I told her. She reacted in the very British way of 'Oh this? It's nothing! Just threw it on before I took the kids to school', but then went on to have a full conversation with me about each of her children and walked away with a huge grin.

I was once told- a few years ago now- that sometimes I can look very judgemental and, to be frank, a bit of a bitch- because I tend to look people up and down when I see them for the first time. I was absolutely horrified and certain that it wasn't true, so I started watching out for it. I soon realised that I do do that, but actually what was going through my head was 'I wish I had skin like that' or 'I love her shoes'. I imagine that if I had walked away without explaining to that lady that I loved her jumper she probably would have thought the same of me.

Perhaps telling everyone my thoughts is my solution.


2.  Random Acts Of Kindness

I have learnt this month that there are opportunities for random actions that make people smile all the time. And just going for it results in both you and the recipient smiling for the rest of the day. I have done quite a few of these, but thought I'd share with you my favourites....

a) This first one I actually did before Christmas and before I had even made my Say Nice Things Aloud resolution, but I want to mention it because the reaction was brilliant.

As I drove toward the toll booth on my drive between Essex and Surrey, what I thought was a lovely idea washed over me. I had my rush of doubts: is that acceptable? Then thought of the smile it would bring me were it the other way round and decided to just go for it. I pulled up to the booth and wound down my window, then passed my two pound coins (yes two pounds- daylight robbery) and a large chocolate coin over to the man working there.

He looked at the three coins and frowned. Then I watched as realisation spread across his face and his mouth broke into a huge smile- think Julia Roberts in the Press Conference scene in Notting Hill- and the normally miserable, bored-looking toll man gushed- yes, gushed- 'thank you so so so much! Merry Christmas.'

That reaction filled my tummy with a warm fuzzy feeling that lasted all the way back to Surrey.

b) The next one was suggested in Glamour Magazine by James Corden. I was in the queue for a coffee in Costa when a lady joined the end and stood behind me. Just as I was about to order I asked her what she was having and proceeded to order and pay for her coffee as well.

Her reaction was equally spirit-lifting. She was nothing short of delighted. 

She started by rejecting my offer, but I firmly told her that I really wanted to do it and she gracefully accepted and skipped over to tell her husband with a wide smile and a new spring in her step. James suggested that if they object you should suggest that they buy for the person behind them, and see how far back you can get it to go. I was unable to do this because I had chosen (perhaps foolishly?) to do it in a quiet store on a Sunday morning- but even what I did was massively gratifying and kept us both- I'm sure- smiling all day.

c) This one also involves food but I promise it's the last one that does.

I was in Boots one Thursday afternoon when a lady stormed in and demanded that her prescription be organised quickly because her bus was on its way. The staff member calmly and politely informed her that unfortunately prescriptions take at least twenty minutes, so she would either have to wait or come back another day.

This suggestion was greeted with all sorts of obscenities that I won't repeat, and the argument went on for at least the ten minutes that I was in there: the staff member remaining patient and polite whilst all kinds of abuse was being thrown at her.

I checked the time and, knowing that The Scary Lady (as she soon became known to me and Boo) would be in there for at least twenty minutes, went to another shop and did various jobs before returning half an hour later.

 I got into the prescription queue and when Mandy- the patient staff member- called me over, I explained that I had seen what had happened and that I didn't want her to leave work today disheartened with the public and hating her job, so I had bought her a creme egg to remind her how good she was and that some of us are quite nice. I didn't say it in a dramatic, cheesy, American way; but in a laughing, friendly, quite British way.

She was so taken aback- more so than I had expected- and so grateful that I was pleased that I had gone to the trouble and not brushed it off as a weird thing to do (which is, I'm sure, what I would have done before Christmas).

One of the main things that I have learnt this month is the wonders of a Creme Egg. I've bought them for a few people just to cheer them up, make them smile and brighten their day and they are magical in their power to lift spirits.

d) This is a very small example but I wanted to give an example of a time that I made someone smile without spending any money. I was in the queue in Tesco when the lady in front of me started counting out her pennies in an effort to pay using cash rather than card. After what felt like a lifetime she realised that she was three pennies short. The cashier rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders and mumbled something along the lines of 'card it is then.' If I had had the three pennies to give her I would have done, but unfortunately I only had my card as well. I imagined myself in that situation though- not too hard, I've been there far too many times for my liking- and went over and said 'Ooh that just happened to me in the last shop, it's nice to see it happen to somebody else- it reminds me that I'm only human.' At that she smiled and replied 'Thank you so much. I was so embarrassed but I suppose it happens to everyone.'

3. Letter To A Stranger

This is one of the suggestions that Buzz Lightyear posted to my wall and I immediately loved it.

The idea is that you write a letter to a stranger- not about your problems or worries, but about positive things. There are no rules really- except that it is supposed to make the reader smile.

You then leave the letter somewhere to be found- on a train, in a cafe- wherever you see fit.

I read some of the comments on the article and found that several people thought that there is nothing special about a letter to a stranger because it's random- if it's random how can it possibly mean anything?

I understood why they would think that but hugely disagreed. I think there would be something magical about finding a letter left for someone to find- even if it wasn't specifically targeted at me. The lady that I bought a coffee for knows that I didn't choose to buy it for her because it was her, just as the toll man knows that I would still have handed over the chocolate coin if it hadn't been him working that day- but it doesn't make it any less spirit-lifting.

So I set about writing the letter- the contents of which will never be known but which I kept short, sweet and genuine- and left it at a bus stop. Walking past the bus stop the next day and seeing that it had disappeared felt exciting and magical and filled me with curiosity.

It could have been a grumpy fourteen year old boy who found it, screwed it up and put it in the bin, or it could have been a thirty year old woman who needed it to make her smile after a stressful day.

I will never know.

Which is half the downside, and half the fun.

4.  The Empty Jar

I was recently speaking to Happy, and he shared with me a theory about how to monitor whether your life is good enough. He said that he often asks his friends: on a scale of one to ten- how happy are you with your life?

If it's below seven, it is absolutely not good enough and you need to do something about it. If it's above seven- amazing, but keep tweaking it to keep it there and maybe push it even higher.

Think about this yourself- where are you?

My suggestion is that- wherever you are on the happy scale- this second idea from Buzz- The Empty Jar- is a brilliant way to push your happiness a bit higher and bring your attention to the small joys in life.

This involves keeping an empty jar in your bedroom. Every time something good happens to you- however small- you should write it down on a piece of paper and put it in your jar. Then whenever you feel down about life- which even Happy does sometimes, I'm sure, read some of the positives in the jar and remember how good life can sometimes be.

Mine isn't filled with amazing, life-changing things, but with tiny, momentary things that can easily be forgotten. The time that the man who started this whole thing told me randomly that I was pretty as a painting, the time that the lady in the newsagents gave me the paper for free (because I had bought so many creme eggs that day in my attempt to spread happiness), and the day that the Irish Prince randomly sent me a package containing all the things I missed most about Ireland (apart from himself obviously...).

When you've been doing it for a year- take it out and read them all back. It makes for some interesting and smile-provoking reading.


I have learned a lot from my month of spreading joy. I've learnt that there's a hugely underrated kick to be had from doing little things to make others smile, that making others happy is inextricably linked to being happy yourself, and that if snow drops were Creme Eggs- the world would be a far happier place right now.

So as I go off to Florida where it will be my full time job to make people smile, to make every day magical and to generally Spread The Joy, I like to think that the happiness will continue to spread right here in the UK- starting with you :)