Life After Disney Cruise Line | Life Update

Hey Everyone!

Welcome back to my blog & if you're new here, it's nice to have you! Time for a little life update! I get a lot of questions about what I've been up to since my last DCL contract, and a lot of people are curious about how I've transitioned. Surprisingly, the transition after my 2cd contract was much more difficult than my transition after my 1st. Why? Well it's kind of complicated but I think it has to do with the fact that I had NO IDEA what was next for me. In comparison, after my 1st contract, I had a good feeling that I was going to end up going back to DCL for another contract once I felt ready, but after I debarked for the 2cd time, I knew that wasn't going to happen for me.

When I debarked the Disney Wonder last year in January, I got home and felt 150% defeated, and mentally, I just felt lost. Being on the ship for 2 contracts over the span of 2 years, feels a hell of a lot longer than only 2 years. I missed out on so much at home from holidays, birthdays, events and time with loved ones. There's no way to get that lost time back, and it felt like everything had changed without me! I didn't know how to pick up where I left off or how to get started on my next chapter in life. It took me a while to get back on my feet again but with time, I started to feel normal again.

After about a month of LOTS of rest and recovering, I started with applying to a couple different jobs and going to a couple of interviews. I was first hired at an Audi/Porsche car dealership BUT I ended up hating it (mainly because I started at 7am which wasn't ideal) so I quit after a week and continued on my search. Thankfully, I landed a receptionist position at a local hair salon, Leon and Co. I really loved it there, I love the people I worked with, made amazing friends and overall really enjoyed my time there. I stayed there from February 2019 - September 2019, before I started on my next chapter in life.

Backtracking to the Spring, I decided it was time for me to finally finish my college degree. I had always planned on finishing school, but never knew where I'd be or what I'd be doing short-term, so finally I was sure that I wasn't going anywhere and could finally focus on my education again. I began taking on campus/online classes at Framingham State University as a Marketing major, mainly because it was only a 25 minute commute and I felt too old at this point to be living on campus anywhere. I was technically considered a Junior and I was 21 at the time, and I was over the whole "college experience" anyways. Since I started working full time for DCL I've completely turned into an introvert and could care less about partying now, so it would have been pointless to go live on a campus at this point of my life.

Once the Fall semester came around, I was going to have to commute to campus a few times a week and my classes were mid-day which was going to make it difficult to continue working at the salon since the shifts were 9:00 - 6:00. I made the decision to leave the salon and focus on my classes for that 1 semester, and I'm so glad I did! I miss the salon everyday BUT I definitely would have struggled to keep up with both at the same time.

After the Fall semester came to an end, I was more than ready to get back to work and start having a paycheck again, so I began on another search. I got extremely lucky and was contacted by the first employer that I sent my resume to. In January, I went on a cruise to visit some friends aboard the Disney Wonder. Ironically, it was exactly 1 year from the time I debarked that ship in Aruba last year! Anyways, the day after I got home from my trip, I had my 1st interview and it went really well! I was invited back for a second interview to meet a few other people, and I was offered the job!

That same job is the one I am still currently working at and I plan on staying long-term. I now work for a small law firm that consists of 3 lawyers and myself and we mainly deal with civil, probate court cases. Even more specifically, we deal with mostly senior citizens looking to plan their will, estate planning, financial/insurance issues ect.. I never knew that I would enjoy working in this field but I've really been enjoying it (and learning A LOT). I love the small environment, the work is very interesting, they are very flexible and it pays really well.

I ended up transferring to Southern New Hampshire University (ALL ONLINE!!!) which might have been one of the best decisions I've made. The semesters are a little bit different than the traditional method; basically each semester is 8 weeks and they're year round. So it is accelerated (still a full time student) which will help me earn my degree a lot faster AND still be able to work full time. No commuting involved which means my classes won't conflict with my work schedule, which was my goal all along.

I started at SNHU in March, and I already started my second semester this past week, AKA it's FLYING by! It's been super simple to manage my work schedule and my school work because the way the online program works is we only have 1 assignment due each Thursday night and any other assignments due each Sunday night, that's it! That goes for all the courses offered, which makes it simple for me to plan ahead.

Obviously, right now we are all dealing with the new life that Coronavirus has placed upon us, so like most people for the past 2 months, I haven't been working. We are considered an essential business as a law firm, however, we did not feel comfortable going into the office everyday AND there wasn't much work that COULD get done with all of this going on right now, anyways. Since most of our clients are senior citizens, we couldn't have any clients come into the office, the courts are closed, and without clients being physically present for signatures ect.. there wasn't many options for us. Regardless of this unfortunate situation, we still have so many cases that need to be worked on (especially because of Coronavirus). My boss contacted me to come into the office this past week, and I couldn't refuse the opportunity to finally get back to work.

Especially right now, so many senior citizens need legal help because of their uncertainty and the risk that they're facing right now. Hospitals and nursing homes also need legal help during this time which means we are super busy and overflowing with cases. Anyways, I am so grateful for the job security I've had throughout this uncertain time and so happy to be working again! It felt so surreal going back to the office and actually doing something more productive than TikTok dances all day long.

To wrap up this post, life after DCL has been a rollercoaster but everything happened for a reason! I'm so satisfied with where I am at this point in my life and couldn't be more grateful despite the tragedy that the world is facing right now. Hopefully we can all enjoy a great summer soon and resume normal life, eventually. I am grateful for the time I spent with Disney but look forward to continuing my education and this amazing job I have, AND whatever else life wants to throw at me!

Once again, thanks for reading and stay safe!

Rachel xx