‘It’s tough right now, but this is only temporary’
“Disney was such a happy experience, and it was so exciting to be in Florida. I was loving what I was doing, loving the people I was with and the community I had created. I had found a church there. There were just all sorts of aspects that fell into place.
“Within a matter of days, all of that was ripped away because of COVID. After I got back home it was like, OK, now what am I going to do? I spent the next three months struggling with my anxiety and depression. I spent what felt like hours upon hours in my mom’s arms, crying to the point where I had no more tears left.
“The job market didn’t help. I applied to company after company and received no more than a generic ‘sorry, we’re not hiring during this unprecedented time’ email. My program ending early felt like a stab wound through the heart, and every email was the twisting of the knife of rejection and failure.
“Finally, I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and said, all right, what am I going to do next? I settled on getting my master’s in social media and marketing. I began researching programs and started those applications. It’s something that I’ve always been super passionate about and have enjoyed doing. To get to study that and hone my craft is really exciting. A lot of it has to do with my time at Disney. Just figuring out that I really love the creative side of things, and the whole start to finish of a creative project.
“As hard as it’s been, I’ve learned a lot about myself and others, and a lot about patience and enjoying life where I’m at right now. It’s not just me. The whole world has paused. Millions of others are going through something similar or have it far worse. I still have my family. I still have my friends. I still have my health. So, yeah, it’s tough right now, but this is only temporary. There’s so much more out there. I’m excited to see what happens next.”
— Kenzie Lackey
As she finalizes plans for her master’s studies, Kenzie enjoys helping prepare meals and social media posts for The Mustard Seed Tea Room in Baytown.
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