Just Kacie Things

What did you do for your internship? I was a Wildberry Poptart! Oh, the life of a Walt Disney World College Program girlie... I was lucky enough to be housed at Patterson Court, which was one of the apartment complexes reserved solely for DCP participants and it was the newest of the complexes. It was pretty quiet and I only had one roommate despite our apartment being set up for four, which was fantastic. (She even left the program early so I had a whole bedroom to myself!)  I was able to keep my financial aid at my school - the University of Minnesota - because I took online classes through them and I took two classes that Disney offered. I even got my "Mouseters Degree" at the end of the DCP classes.  The Entertainment Show Production was my absolute favorite because we got to go backstage and see how so many of the shows were run! The Fantasmic day was by far my favorite as it was one of the best shows on property and I wanted to see how they did all of the stunts and the...

The year was 1995. Seven-year-old Kacie can be seen in front of the family's tube TV pointing to this commercial and saying "I'm gonna live there someday!" My parents responded with some version of "Sure, Jan" and then I'm sure I went back to playing with my Polly Pockets or Barbies or something. At least, that's what my parents tell me. They say it's on some old home video, but who knows how we'd watch those old VHS tapes now...  Oh boy! When I meet new people, I'd say the #1 question I get asked is "What was it like to work for Disney?" I spent 2011-2016 working for "the Mouse" in various capacities, with most of my time being at Walt Disney World in Florida. While I am incredibly thankful for my time there, the friends I made, and the things I learned along the way... Walt Disney World was not a great place to work at the time. I can't speak for them now, of course, but having spent 5 years with the company and ...

"As a writer, I see the blank page as a source of inspiration. A moment of reflection to gain more self-awareness and to discover more about what I know. " -  Nifemi Aluko, Medium I mentioned that I recently took out all of my therapy notebooks and was astonished at how many there were... most not even halfway filled in. Why do we get so excited about fresh starts? Blank pages, character creators in video games, a new room to decorate—what’s so inspiring about a blank slate, and why is it so hard for someone like me to actually finish the project?  As someone with a creativity-fueled brain, I feel like I am constantly searching for that next creative outlet. I remember my childhood desk was filled with markers, crayons, colored pencils, etc. Over time, my creative focus shifted toward music—I found myself singing at every opportunity, playing the French Horn, and eventually diving into the world of theatre. When I got into gaming, I always wanted to play something where I cou...

10 points if you got that song from the classic PBS show, Arthur, stuck in your head from the title!  I grew up going to my local library every single weekend. As a 90's kid, I was obsessed with the VHS section and the Nancy Drew series with the glossy yellow covers. I can still remember how it smelled, the pictures painted on the walls, and what seemed like endless rows of magazines, books, cassette tapes, and more.  For the last 6 years, I worked in local government here in Texas where libraries were a huge part of each city. Most notably, when I was a City Manager, our Library Director went all the way to Washington D.C. to speak about the importance of funding for libraries for things like tablets for kids or hotspots for families whose homes didn't have internet. I can't even begin to express how AMAZING this particular little library is. In the Summer, they became a place where any kid from anywhere in the area could come and get meals like they would during the schoo...

I've been in and out of therapy over the years and when I decided to start this blog, I combed through my box of endless notebooks that are barely full with years worth of therapy notes, quotes, etc. Each of them reflects a different point in my life, (and a reminder that I'm really bad about finishing notebooks!) but the overall theme has remained the same: How do I get through these rough patches? Of course, nothing I wrote is particularly groundbreaking, but I like to add some personal examples to each thought of things that have really helped me. For example, a thought from last year was: " With dealing with depression, joy can feel hard to find. On the toughest days, it might seem like happiness is out of reach, but small moments of light are still possible. " Underneath this thought, I wrote " Coffee, sunshine, laughter, community, cheering on friends." Most of these are small things we take for granted, while the community and friendship is something ...

Umm... hi! It's been a heckuva long time since I have blogged. I have recently re-discovered my love for connecting with people via Bluesky  and am so thankful to have found such an amazing community there thanks to HalfMoonJoe /Joseph Birdsong!  Since Bluesky is more suited for short-form chat, and I tend to be as wordy as possible, I thought it’d be nice to have a little spot where I can jot down my thoughts and keep them to look back on. If you’re here, don’t expect perfect grammar or cohesive ideas, as I sometimes feel the need to 'brain dump' when left to my own devices. Honestly, I’m not sure what this will turn into, but I've always felt a drive to document life. I’ve never been great at journaling with paper and pen, so maybe my millennial self will have better luck with this! Stay tuned for whatever randomness I decide to get myself into and share with this little corner of the internet.  Thank you for being here. <3