A PhotoPass shot from August 12th at the Fairytale Garden - the very first time I met Merida. This was a very energetic conversation because when Merida and company saw the Ralph Lauren Team USA shirt that I'd chosen to wear that day (it was the final day of the Olympics), they actually thought I'd been competing in London! I not only then got to bring my sports knowledge into play but also talk about how I related Disney to the Olympics and how it gives me so much energy.

Merida And look at all those pins you've got there!
Merida's Friend I think that means he's been playing in the Island Games (the Olympics) and that he's won some different things from the different games he's been playing!
Merida The horse riding (equestrian), right? You've got horses all over you!
Me Well, I'm certainly not Zara Phillips or anyone like that - the Queen's granddaughter? I'm certainly not her...I'm certainly not Andy Murray, I'm certainly not Sir Chris Hoy...

All right, time for a timeout. There was a reason why I'd brought up those three names in particular. If you're a sports fan like me, you may know who they are, so I hope you won't mind me taking a little time and explaining who each is to those who don't follow sports as much.

Zara Phillips is the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the daughter of HRH Princess Anne, The Princess Royal (who has been an Olympian herself and who is now an IOC member.) She is an accomplished equestrian who carried the Olympic torch on horseback at Cheltenham during the relay and won silver in London in the team eventing as part of Team Great Britain.
Andy Murray is the top-ranked British male tennis player in the ATP rankings and No. 3 in the world overall. A native of Dunblane, he became the first British man to win Olympic singles tennis gold in 104 years when he beat Roger Federer in straight sets at Wimbledon. On Monday, he became the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 and the first Scottish man since Harold Mahony in 1896 to win a Grand Slam and the first ever British man to win a Grand Slam in the Open era when he beat Novak Djokovic in five sets to win the US Open.
Sir Chris Hoy is a track cyclist who is not only Scotland's most successful Olympian but also Britain's most successful Olympian. A native of Edinburgh, he has won 7 Olympic medals, of which 6 are gold, in addition to 11 world championships. In Beijing in 2008, he became the first Briton in a century to win three gold medals at a single Olympics as he won gold in the team sprint, individual sprint and keirin - and was knighted for his efforts in the New Year's Honours List. He was also Great Britain's flagbearer for the opening ceremony in London and defended titles in the keirin and team sprint to pass rower Sir Steve Redgrave for the most gold medals by a Briton (only track/road cyclist Bradley Wiggins, this year's Tour de France champion, has as many total medals as Hoy.)

All right, back to the conversation! This was where I talked with a character for the first time about where I get a lot of my energy from when I'm at Disney.

Me ...But I will tell you this. Four years ago, I was studying abroad in China a few months before the Games in Beijing...
Merida Right...
Me I got to see the Olympic Park up close...I came here a year after that (for my first College Program) and I felt the exact same energy and still do to this day.
Merida and Friends Wow!
Merida Very nice! We've got lots of nice archers here, don't we?

It was true - I had studied abroad for six weeks in China at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou a matter of months before the Olympics. We had gotten to see how the country was revving up, especially when the torch relay passed through Hangzhou. Since we felt that electricity and since we had brought a team of students and teachers to China, I felt compelled even more to treat it as our Olympics, so by the time I came to Orlando for the College Program, I had an idea of what it took to succeed on an international stage - and when I got there, I felt the same energy to the point that I also treated it as an Olympiad and even told one manager that I wanted to make sure I earned a gold medal by the end of the session. I think so much of it has to do with realizing that you have the chance to make your dreams come true with people from around the world watching - and also that it's time to go all-out not only for yourself, but for your family, your school and your country.

I really hope you like it - feel free to emote and comment! Also, if you fave this, please leave a comment as well. For many more Disney park photos from Anaheim and Paris as well as Orlando, check out Our Disney Adventures ([link]).