Two months and five days from today, I’ll be spending my
last day working for Disney World. I wish I could spin off some teary, eloquent
sentence about how time travels quietly and fleetly, but all that comes to mind
are expletives. Around two months ago I started my life from scratch. New state
with new job and new people. Holding tightly to a relentless thirst for
adventure and a yearning to change the world- and apparently a lot of clichés
because this sentence is making me cringe. In all seriousness, I really did
begin a new life for myself, and it’s been a wonderful journey so far. I’ve
learned how to keep friends that I know are going to support me, and let
negative people slide smoothly out of my life. I can cook, budget (though this
is a work in progress), and basically pretend to be an adult if necessary. I’ve
learned that there are some challenges I can’t handle, and it’s best to just
simply let them go. For example, around a month ago I was assigned to work
backstage the Beauty and the Beast show. I was beyond ecstatic to be coming
back home to my theater roots, but the experience was far from what I expected.
The costume changes and other such quickly moving tasks stressed me out, and
during one of the shows I had a full-blown panic attack. I was mortified that
my anxiety was getting in the way of my professional life, and angry at myself
for not being able to control my own head. But when given the choice to stay
with the show or go return to my old location, I chose to leave. My body and my
mental health are my priority, and as painful as it was to swallow my pride, I’ve
been finding it easier lately to say, “You know what, this is too much for me. I
need to take a step back for now.” So in the end I came here to learn about
Disney and costuming shenanigans, and have learned a hell of a lot more about
myself. It’s like growing up but without taxes and probably slightly less
responsibilities! And not to sound like an infomercial, but wait- there’s more!
Time may have flown, but I still have two months left to learn, grow, and buy
Mickey ice cream bars. Two more months of my incredible new friends, of
breathtaking Florida sunsets and days filled with making magic. I try to
appreciate every moment here, even the late hours of laundry and long bus
rides, because soon I’ll go back to “real life” and wallow distastefully in my
longing to be working for Disney again. Two more months to make a positive impact
in this crazy sunshine state, all whilst learning about myself and building
career goals and writing pretentious blog posts. Challenge accepted.
