As I stare at the little countdown on my phone, that has now turned from "until" to "since", I think back on all the memories I made these past two years while working at the Most Magical Place on Earth. All the sleep I lost, the one or two nights I cried at work, the countless people yelling in my face. But also the hours of laughter with my fellow cast members, the adventures I had in the parks, the people I met from all over the world, the joy in people's faces when they came to check in with me at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.
I won't lie and say working at Disney is easy. It's an extremely taxing job and at times, makes it very hard to stay positive and smile all the time. Add working third shift to that and the cons seem to outweigh the pros. But I also won't deny that it's been an incredible experience that I would never trade for anything.
I know I sound like a recorder at this point, but to my new readers, I left my home, my island, to pursue this dream of working for Disney again. Even though I knew coming in that it would be short-term (we gave ourselves 5 years here), we cut it much shorter than anticipated. I would've loved to fit in this world, but it's ok to accept when you don't. I absolutely loved my coworkers and, at the risk of sounding boastful, I was pretty good at my job. Maybe it was the right place at the wrong time, but something didn't feel right to us.
If I can be candid for a minute with you, reader, my third shift team is the best team I could have asked for. I've made some lifelong friendships there and it's the most painful part for me about leaving this job. But working third shift meant I saw my husband for about an hour a day before I had to leave the house to drive 40 minutes to work and then 40 minutes back and he was already at work. My days off were during the week, so he was working and I was working on his days off. You might be asking: "why didn't you transfer to work during the day?" and the answer is simple. It was more convenient to work during the night. The pay was better, the schedule was set, so I always knew when I worked, I was guaranteed hours and there was virtually no traffic ever. But all the pluses didn't add up enough to not spending time with my husband and best friend. It's not worth it if I start losing my most important relationship.
I'll go even further and give you another reason: we don't really love Florida. In fact, we very much dislike it. It's a very tense environment all around and I personally felt on edge most of the time as a latina. There's a plapable air of...i won't say racism, but something close? Life is different outside the Disney bubble and unfortunately, that's where I live after I leave work. We also want to start a family soon and this isn't quite where we would want to raise children for reasons I won't get into here. We just didn't feel safe.
So now it's time to go. Off towards our new dream. I know I didn't really write much about our adventure here and I do sincerely apologize for it, but I worked for 10 hours a night and then slept the whole day until it was time to work again. To be honest, I was barely conscious to hang out with friends most of the time. Which is something I'm hoping to look forward to: sleeping during the night and working during the day. Getting my sleep schedule back on track.
I am immensly grateful to my Animal Kingdom Lodge family. They've watched me grow and become the cast member I am (or was) today. They're all cheering me on my next adventure (especially my book, which they are VERY anxious about me publishing already, I'll get to it, I promise!).
It's very bittersweet. I haven't cried yet, but I suspect it's because my mind is occupied by all the things I still have to do before driving up to our new home. Once we're on the road and I start reading all the sweet messages my coworkers left for me, I know I'll realise what I just left behind. But just because it hurts to leave, doesn't mean you should stay. Not when it's holding you back.
To Corinne, Cathy, Gabby, Kate, Tommy, Tom, Fedner, Katie, Kevin, and Christine (yes, and even Joey), thank you for being my opening team and receiving me with open arms. You have a huge piece of my heart and I will never forget you.
To Joe, Meaghan, Brenda, Ethan, Erika, Savannah, Steven, Sam, Irene, Lorena, and Maria, thank you for being my closing team and creating bonds with me these last few months. You didn't have to, but you did and I appreciate the moments we had together.
To Jackie and Zach, thank you for becoming like family for me these last few months. This isn't good-bye, this is until next time.
I'm sure I missed some important people in third shift and I'm sorry if I did, just know I love you all and even if I'm not remembering right now, I am taking you with me in my heart.
And to all my daytime cast, which are literally in the 30s of how many people I can mention here, thank you for everything you did for me. I'll miss saying good-bye to you in the nights and saying good morning to you the next days.
Asante Sana, Kwaheri and See ya Real Soon.
-Andrea ❤️
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