it's time for me to say goodbye...
for more adventures...🌈
🌟 ig, tiktok, spotify, pinterest: @emilynels8
💖 business inquiries only: emilynelson@thedigitaldept.com
thank you orlando for helping me find my spark.
- emily
for more adventures...🌈
🌟 ig, tiktok, spotify, pinterest: @emilynels8
💖 business inquiries only: emilynelson@thedigitaldept.com
thank you orlando for helping me find my spark.
- emily
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00Have you ever had a dream? Something that has just maybe called to you, your whole life even,
00:07but you didn't really know if it was for you. Maybe you didn't know if you were good enough
00:12for it, and no matter how hard you try to get away from it, it's still there. The passion,
00:18the dream is still there, and you think to yourself, oh well, you know what, one day,
00:25I think one day, oh I'll go do that thing, one day I'll go follow my dreams and I'll listen to it,
00:30and not today, I'm a little bit busy today, I'm booked and busy today, but no, one day,
00:34and as the years go by, and you grow up, and you get older, and you follow your dreams,
00:38maybe you follow other dreams, but that one dream, the scary one, it's still there.
00:45Well, that's how I've always felt about moving to California. My whole entire life, I've been
00:51obsessed with the thought of moving to California. I blame it on Disney Channel,
00:56I blame it on shows like Hannah Montana that just made it seem so cool, and I always just thought,
01:01well, maybe one day, maybe one day, I'll move to California, but not today, and so I moved to
01:06Florida, and I did the Disney College Program, and I thought, well, okay, I'm gonna stay here
01:11for a year or two, and then I'll move to California. Seven years go by, I'm still here,
01:18I'm still in Florida, but this year, I decided, I'm not gonna put it off anymore.
01:24What if today's that someday? What if today is the day I decide to go after my dream,
01:30the big one, the scary one? And that's what I'm doing. As you can see, all of my furniture is
01:38packed up, and I'm flying to move to California in a few days. Yeah, that's a little bit crazy
01:47to say out loud. I've wanted to do this my whole entire life. Like, I remember going on vacations
01:54with my family in the airport, and we'd be going somewhere really beautiful, really fun, and we'd
01:58be at the airport, and I'd see a flight to LAX, and I would go, mom, mom, can we change our flight
02:03and go there? It's just right there, like, can we just go to California instead? And she'd be like,
02:07Emily, no, we're going to Europe, what? There's just always been something about California that
02:12I think has really called me, and I've been really drawn to. But I didn't want to admit it,
02:19because I didn't really understand it, or understand what that could mean. And I've
02:24tried to fight it my whole life. I've tried to say, no, let me live in Texas. No, let me live
02:28in Florida. And I have had truly the best life here. I have had the best seven years here in
02:35Orlando, Florida. I will cherish, I will cherish it forever. All the friends that I've made,
02:42all the memories, getting to hang out with Jesse, Handy Manny, Chip and Dale, Pooh Bear, I,
02:51oh frick. Getting to work for Radio Disney, getting to be hosted by Walt Disney World,
02:57doing the sleepovers here, going to Epcot for all of the festivals. I will cherish my time here in
03:03Orlando for the rest of my life. But I've also been here for seven years, and I feel like I've
03:08kind of done everything that there is to do. I've been to every Epcot festival, I've gone to all the
03:14Disney parks, I've made traditions, I've met so many amazing people. I truly have done it all.
03:20And because of that, I feel like it's my time to leave. And I'm leaving on the best note in the
03:27absolute world. And I know I'm going to come back and visit Orlando all of the time. Actually,
03:33as a matter of fact, I think I have about four trips already booked for this year to come back
03:38to Orlando. So this really is going to be my home away from home. But with that being said, it's
03:43time for me to start a new chapter, a new journey. And I always said that, well, I would know the
03:48time is right to move to California when I would be traveling out there a lot for work. My whole
03:53life, I've always said that. And the way I envisioned it was that I would be in high school,
03:57and I'd be an actor, and I would have to be flying out there all the time for auditions and pilot
04:03season and whatnot. And when that vision never happened, I thought, okay, well, maybe I'm not
04:07meant to be an actor. And maybe I'm not meant to go to LA and do that whole thing. But then a funny
04:11thing happened. Last year, I flew out to California in March, literally this time last year to go to
04:18Disney Channel Night, which was arguably the best night of my entire life. I love Disney Channel
04:23Night, long live Disney Channel Night. That night changed my life, I think. And I didn't really know
04:28it at the time. And I remember during that trip, there was a moment where I was walking through
04:32California Adventure with my friend. And this is during their Food and Wine Festival, which is
04:36different from the Disney World Epcot Food and Wine Festival. The theming of Disneyland's Food
04:41and Wine Festival is California. So essentially, they just play a bunch of songs about California
04:47on loop. And as me and my friend are walking, I think past like the Inside Out ride, that little
04:52area. And as we're walking, I hear one of the songs playing. And it says, I want you to move to
04:57California for yourself, not for me. And when I heard that, it was like a bell went off. Not even
05:05kidding. It truly felt like God was speaking to me and was just like, hey, if you want to move to
05:09California, move to California. And I had the biggest epiphany that I think my whole life, I was
05:15waiting for someone to tell me to move to California. I was waiting for a sign to move
05:20to California. I was waiting for a job opportunity to force me to move to California. Or I don't know,
05:25people in my life to just say, hey, Emily, I think you should move to California. I was always just
05:30waiting for someone to give me permission to move. And I never thought that like, well, I could just
05:37move because I want to. That never occurred to me. And hearing that song, I listened to that song
05:43on repeat over and over again. And I realized, you know what? Like, I can move to California if I
05:50want to. It could be it could be the worst decision of my entire life. But if I want to move to
05:56California, I could just do that. And I don't know why I didn't ever see it that way. And so after
06:00that trip, I go home and I decide, well, Pixar Fest is starting in April. I want to go back to
06:06California. I love Pixar. So why not? I fly back to California. I have the literal best trip of my
06:12life. Again, long live Pixar Fest. And what's really funny is I came back home and my mental
06:18health went from like a hundred having so much fun at Pixar Fest to zero. I was like all of a sudden
06:24not doing well. I had this like big mental breakdown of just like, what the heck am I doing with my
06:30life? I don't know. Like I was just questioning everything. And in that moment, like I almost
06:35wanted to quit. I almost wanted to just give up. I don't know where that came from. It was the
06:39craziest thing. The next day I got an invitation to go visit Pixar Animation Studios back in
06:47California. The timing of that was crazy. So two weeks later, what did I do? I went back to San
06:53Francisco, California. I got to visit Pixar Animation Studios and that was also one of the
06:59best days of my life. I come back home to Orlando and what do you know? I get invited back to
07:04California for the Inside Out 2 world premiere. Say what? My whole life, my whole life I had dreamed
07:11of going to a movie premiere and somehow, someway, I still don't understand I was invited. So I go
07:19back to California. While I'm in California, I get another invite for an Inside Out 2 event at Pixar
07:26Fest, inviting me back to Disneyland. And in that moment, I realized this is what I've always said.
07:34This is my vision come to life. I am being invited and asked to go to California for work over and
07:42over and over again. It happened in a way that was completely unexpected, but then I realized this is
07:49what I've been waiting my whole entire life for. And that's when I knew that it was time. It was
07:54time to move to California. And since then, I have just been working through logistics and finding out
08:00where to live and finding an apartment and mentally getting myself prepared to move to California.
08:05And fast forward a little bit, that brings us to today. This is a really big step for me and I've
08:10been really trying to process it the best way I can. I am terrified. I am terrified to move to
08:16California. What if I hate it? What if I don't have any friends? I might not be meant to live there. I
08:21have no idea, but I do know that I have to try. I just feel it that this is the time. This is my
08:28time to go to California. And what's been really bittersweet is over the past month or two, so many
08:34full circle moments have happened, such as getting to reunite with Haley and getting to relive those
08:39Disney College Program memories for a second. And there's so many friends that I've gotten to
08:43reunite with and get to kind of relive little different eras of my life here in Orlando.
08:48And to me, that is the biggest sign that this is the right move. It feels like my life here in
08:54Orlando has come the most full circle possible and I get to wrap it all up in a nice little bow,
09:01say goodbye, and head off. So surprise! I have a really big announcement and I'm moving to California.
09:07I am flying out there in a few days from now, but by the time you're watching this, I am probably
09:14out there. I'm terrified. I'm excited. I'm happy. I'm nervous. I'm sad. I've been really sad, this week
09:21especially, because I love my life here and I'm really, really sad to leave it behind. But I also
09:26just am so grateful that I have something so amazing that is hard to say goodbye to. And I'll
09:32be back. I will be back in Orlando so many times. You guys are gonna forget that I moved. I literally
09:37am coming back here so soon. You guys are gonna be like, wait a second, I thought you just moved.
09:42I'm confused. So in terms of like what you'll be seeing from me, I mean pretty much nothing really
09:48changes, yet everything will. The best part about living in California is they have Disneyland and
09:53I'm so excited to kind of get to know Disneyland a little bit more, especially as a local. I told
10:00you guys I'm a magic key holder now, so I am so excited to go to the parks. I'm really excited to
10:05hang out in the Pixar Place Hotel. That is like my favorite place on this earth. So I think I'm just
10:11gonna be there all of the time. I'm excited to maybe go to the beach. I never go to the beach
10:16here. It's not that far away, but it's just, I don't know, I never go. But out there the beaches are a
10:21little bit closer, so who knows? I could go to the beach all the time. I think it's gonna be like my
10:25Disney College program all over again, in the sense that I'm doing something new. I'm completely
10:30starting over and I'm so excited to document what that process looks like. I want to document what
10:37it's like to make friends, to put myself out there. I have no idea what is waiting for me in California
10:44and I think that's really exciting. So with that being said, I hope you guys are excited, maybe?
10:50It's okay if you're not, I understand. But I hope you guys are excited for this new chapter. A whole
10:57new life is about to start. And you know what? If I really hate it, I can always move back to Orlando
11:02and pretend like I never left. But I know that I have to go experience it for myself. I'm doing
11:07this for little me. I'm doing this for the little girl who always dreamed about living in California
11:12and we'll see what happens. So this past week my mom was in town and she was helping me pack
11:18everything up. She truly was an angel. Thank you mom so much for helping me. We got everything packed
11:22up and my stuff is currently on its way to California. My car is on its way to California.
11:28So fingers crossed everything gets there. I am gonna be furniture-less for a little bit while
11:34I'm out there, but I'm excited. Everybody is telling me I'm crazy, but I'm excited. I'm excited to just
11:41live in like an empty apartment. I think there's something so cool about like before my furniture
11:46gets there, like eating on the floor or like sitting on the, I don't know, sitting on the floor and just
11:51just kind of taking it all in. I haven't seen my apartment yet so I'm very nervous about that. I'm
11:57hoping it's good. I think it's gonna be fine, but I have no idea. So that is gonna be really fun to
12:03figure out. So I'm flying into California and then I have a few days to get settled and then
12:10I have a really big event. So I also need to get ready for that and get ready to start a new life.
12:17So I just want to say to everyone here in Orlando, I love you all so much. I'm gonna miss you all so
12:24so much, but I'll be back. I will literally be back here all of the time, so not to worry. It's not
12:30goodbye. And to all of you guys who have watched and followed along my Orlando adventures, thank
12:36you so much. Thank you for being here. It means more to me than you'll ever know and I hope you're
12:43excited to go on this new journey together. I could not do this without you guys, truly. I know that
12:49Orlando was always where I was meant to go. I had no idea, but now looking back, I was always meant
12:56to be here in Orlando and I was always meant to be here for seven years. Everything happened
13:01exactly the way that it was supposed to and all of that happened, I think, to get me ready to move
13:07to California because I wasn't ready back then. I wasn't ready when I was 18. I wasn't ready after
13:13my Disney College program. It took me a lot longer than I thought to be ready, but I'm ready now.
13:19I feel it. And so let that be a sign to you. If you have a dream, if you have that thing that
13:24has just always been calling to you, it's okay if you're not ready for it now. It's okay to say,
13:29you know what, someday I'll do that. One day when I'm ready. It's okay because you never know where
13:34life is going to take you and everyone accomplishes their dreams at their own pace and on their own
13:39time. So listen to your heart, but don't ever let that dream go because one day you're going to wake
13:44up and you're going to say, I think today's the day. I think today's the day that I go follow my
13:49dreams. And that is the biggest thing I could ever hope to inspire someone to do is to go and follow
13:55their dreams, whatever that may be. So I'm going to finish cleaning my apartment. I think I'm going
13:59to go on one last walk, one last little walk on my favorite walking trail. And I guess I'll see
14:07you guys in California.