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140 CHARACTERS OR MORE

inspired by twitter.
written by mel.
[Any & all photos used are my personal photos]

Blog Posts

I Miss Florida Life

4/18/2018

11 Comments

 
PictureMy favorite photo from my most recent time in Florida. I loved going to the parks by myself and meeting the characters. They gave the best hugs and treated you like royalty especially when they knew you were there alone. The day this photo was taken, Winnie the Pooh went out of his way to treat me extra special on a day that was particularly rough for me. The smile on my face is all thanks to him.
I miss the way it smells, the way it sounds, the way it feels to walk outside in the morning and the sun is already beating down on you, it’s hot and it’s humid, and it isn’t even 8 am yet. I miss being undeniably good at something. Even if it’s something as simple as making a guest smile, I was good at my job. I miss feeling like I have no limits, even if I had to take the bus everywhere I wanted to go, the possibilities were endless and I always had an escape. I miss throwing a bunch of shit in a backpack, grabbing a park schedule, and disappearing for an entire day. I even miss the way it hurt to wake up in the morning and put my feet on the ground because they hurt for standing for 12 hours straight.

I miss the design on the Starbucks coffee cups and the way you would walk out of the shop and your cup would immediately begin to sweat in your hand because of the heat. I miss making $10/hr (really added up considering all of the hours, overtime, and holidays that I worked) but feeling like I was rich and treating myself every chance I got because I deserved it. I miss the people. I miss the way work didn’t feel like a chore. I miss the way chores didn’t feel like chores. I miss the way that living real life (paying bills, grocery shopping, keeping up the house, working full time) in Florida didn’t feel like real life, it felt more like a fantasy.

I miss the way I wasn’t afraid to live my life. I would stay out until midnight every night even knowing that I had to be up at 5:45 the next day for work. I miss the way I wasn’t afraid to live just because I had work the next day. I miss the way I took advantage of every opportunity because I knew that this life was only temporary and I had to get the most out of it that I could.

I need to go back to this attitude. This life that I’m living is where I’m at for the time being. I feel like I’m stuck in Cleveland for a while but the fact of the matter is, life in general is still temporary. I work 40 hours a week that is a lot of my life that is being taken away from me. It is absolutely ridiculous for me not to live what is left of the rest of my week to the fullest and do things for myself. Things that will make me a happier person. The opportunities for things to do in Cleveland are endless, I just need to start taking advantage of them.

I don’t miss Disney all the time, I definitely don’t miss working for Disney all the time, but there is not a day, week, month, or even a year that goes by that I don’t think about my Disney life or my life in Florida. I miss Florida life. I miss it all the time. 

11 Comments
Travis Cook
4/18/2018 11:01:09 am

Well done. This was well written. It seems like you poured your heart out onto this, and you speak for a lot of people who miss Florida and disney. I know it has been hard on me not adjusting super well to not being in Florida. It seems like a distant dream being there. I miss Florida and Disney life as well.

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Mel @ 140CharactersOrMore link
4/18/2018 12:25:07 pm

Travis-

Thank you so much for your comment, I truly appreciate it. I definitely poured my heart out, I woke up this morning and was hit by a storm of homesickness for that place.

It took me awhile to adjust as well, I never believed in Post Disney Depression, but it is 100% a thing and I suffered for months, I still sometimes suffer. But, I find that writing about it helps, and now I'm very busy with work, hobbies, family, just being a person. But I always long to go back and the love for it and the memories will never go away.

Things will get better, I promise. "it's not until you lose everything that you begin to appreciate everything" -Belle.

-Mel

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arielle
4/18/2018 02:20:55 pm

i’m crying

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John Ivan Prcela
4/18/2018 11:34:03 am

Melyssa, my Darling! You are a great artist with pen. With every word you wrote in that essay you are a living proof that every moment of life is precious indeed. Life is worth living. God love you, my Darling!

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Mel @ 140CharactersOrMore link
4/18/2018 12:18:52 pm

Papa,

Thank you so much for your kind words. I am so glad that you were able to find the message in this article. I tried really hard to portray it as best as I could, the way I see you do with your writing. I love you very much.

-Mel

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Courtney
4/18/2018 12:56:31 pm

I’m 18 years removed from my CP life and every word you wrote is as fresh to me as if it were yesterday. I went through a spell where like you I was in a stats of in between, then REAL life and Disney life reminded me that the temporary is only what I make of it. I decided to everyday write down 10 things I’m grateful for. 5 in the morning and 5 at night. To this day my Disney experience is often on my daily lists. No longer wistful but full of gratefulness for all it taught me about living with joy. I choose to smile at people I meet. I still consciously point with two fingers and I enjoy knowing that even outside the park gates I can somehow make someone’s day a little brighter. I hope you get to that place of sheer life love again. Keep expressing those feelings and sharing your adventures. You just might share a little magic along the way. 😊

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Mel @140CharactersOrMore
4/18/2018 03:01:35 pm

Courtney-

Your comment has me crying. Thank you for stopping by and reading and sharing a bit of magic with me.

-Mel

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Lisa Peel
4/18/2018 06:54:20 pm


This literally had me in tears. It is beautifully written. My daughter is a former CP and has been home for almost a year and is still struggling with the "Disney Depression". I try my best to talk her through her bad days the best that I can. I am sharing this with her with the hope that it will help her when she is feeling "homesick" for her Florida life.
Thank you for sharing your feelings... it's not always easy to put your heart and soul out there for the world to read!

Wishing the best to you on wherever your journey in life may lead you!





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Mel @ 140CharactersOrMore link
4/19/2018 05:15:53 am

Lisa-

Thank you for reading and thank you for the comment. I did my first CP in Fall of 2016 and I went back last summer for my summer alumni.

The homesickness gets easier, but it will never fully go away. I swear, working for The Walt Disney Company changes a person in ways that are hard to understand. And those who aren't there with us don't understand the highs and the lows that we go through and the love that we have for it all.

Please tell your daughter if she ever needs someone to chat with, I'm only one message away. Thats the magic of blogging :)

-Mel

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Ron Aderhold
4/30/2018 08:40:42 pm

Mel, I hope it’s not wierd tat I’m commenting here, I thought your writing was very good, I reall share your feelings about living life to the fullest. I hope your recent trip our east helped you experience some new things!! Keep it up!

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Mel @ 140CharactersOrMore
5/1/2018 02:56:49 pm

Ron-

Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated! Thank you for the support!

-Melyssa

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