Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Nofziger | Sgt. 1st Class Nick Nofziger poses in front of the "it's a small world" attraction at...... read more read more
As part of the Training with Industry (TW) Program, Sgt. 1st Class Nofziger chose to complete a bi-monthly blog series documenting his journey. As the first TWI Communications Fellow at Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, Calif., this series serves to highlight the benefits of the TWI program and Nofziger’s personal experiences.
ANAHEIM, Calif. – It is difficult to put into words what I feel right now. Honestly, as my time at the Disneyland Resort comes to a close, it is terribly bittersweet.
I remember how I felt pulling up the HRC website, which I had done obsessively since my interview with the Disneyland Communications team and seeing my name next to “DISNEY.” My husband immediately knew based on my reaction that this was the assignment for which I had been chosen, and we were ecstatic. I had only been to Disneyland once when I was four years old and still remembered the sheer joy I felt at the Happiest Place on Earth.
This year has been tough, which leads me to one of my final pieces of advice, one that I have extolled to many yet failed to follow myself: Go into each new experience with zero expectations, good or bad.
Those of us in the military have often asked colleagues what to expect from our next assignments and been told horror stories about the infamous installations, or inflated wonders of other little known “gems” of the military world. Once we arrive, we make up our own minds, often being either disappointed because the “gem” was not near as shiny as we anticipated, or pleasantly surprised because the horrific experience about which we were warned is not nearly that bad.
Because we make our own choices, and we make our own experiences. Life is what you make of it. Do not let anyone else dictate how your life will be, including your former self.
My joy and excitement about coming to Disneyland was largely based on a 30-year memory and was not grounded in reality. I came here to work, to learn, to grow as a communicator, Soldier, and husband. There is much more I could have done if I had merely trusted my gut. I should have treated this assignment like a year-long assignment to the Republic of Korea, and left my husband at home, where he would have continued to thrive in his career, unburdened by following my dream across country.
Perhaps then he would not have been forced to sit alone most days in our home, unable to find a job, and growing more and more depressed by the day. I blame myself for the effect this assignment has had on my family, but I also take this as one of the hardest lessons I have had to learn and will grow from it.
I have spent the last ten months battling inner demons on a constant basis, putting on the brave “magic” face at work daily in an effort to mask what was going on at home. It was incredibly difficult, to feel like I had let my family down, and watching my closest relationships begin to disintegrate.
On the other hand, however, I truly got to live a dream. I have been obsessed with all things Disney since I first set foot on this property as a young boy. The first movie I remember watching was “Snow White” and I still think the villains are the best part of any Disney / Pixar film. I showed up to my first day of kindergarten, amidst the pop culture hysteria of “The Lion King” (aging myself, but the original), wearing a Scar t-shirt. I stood out immediately amongst the crowd of Simba and Nala memorabilia, but I was comfortable marching to the beat of my own drum.
If this assignment has taught me anything (believe me, it has taught me plenty), it is that we must be unapologetically ourselves in all aspects of our life. It is, indeed, too short to be anyone but you every second of every day. Forging our own paths and making each experience what we need it to be for ourselves is what life is all about. This translates to the military, as I begin to make that transition back into uniform and formations and last minute OPORDs and details and supervising 20 Soldiers for the first time ever in my career.
Just because I have been told over and over again what my job will be and how it is best done, does not mean I have to do it that way. There are real problems we are facing in our country and in our military. If someone, like myself, does not begin doing the work now to fix those problems, who will? As I have mentioned previously, I am tenacious. I do not sit quietly in the shadows and bide my time, hoping something will change.
I forge my own path.
Now, however, I know that means weighing all the pros and cons, their effects on my life, my family, and those around me BEFORE making decisions. When I was younger in my career, I was able to just pull the trigger on a decision and, fortunately, it typically worked out for me. This largely was luck, rather than calculated planning and strategic decision-making. As I head into my first assignment as a senior NCO, I know that my leadership style must change. I have too many people to think about now to simply look out for myself first.
I had planned an entirely different blog post before I sat down to write this. But I was walking the park and found a shirt in one of the merchandise locations that looked almost exactly like that infamous t-shirt I wore to my first day of kindergarten. It reminded me that I have always been an outsider, a weirdo, someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and make things happen, regardless of pushback. While I know enough now to temper that tenacity with a healthy dose of realism and respect for the consequences of my decisions, I remain that six-year-old boy: unafraid of what’s next because I know it will be whatever I make it to be.
I urge you all to do the same. Nothing changes by remaining silent. If you see something with which you do not agree, say something about it. Remember also: the grass is only greener on the other side because you are not there to see it firsthand. Once you are there, the lighting shifts and the original side of the fence looks a lot more appealing. Live on the grass in which you are planted, and make it even better than that which you see across from you.
| Date Taken: | 05.28.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.28.2024 17:26 |
| Story ID: | 472374 |
| Location: | ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | CINCINNATI, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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