Halfway there

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.