This mask that I have to wear everyday gives me a totally different perspective. Wearing my mask, I am Mickey Mouse, dancing around in the parades, cheering up all those people that visit Disneyland. Seeing those bright smiles on their faces, seeing the children laugh and scream full of fear and excitement on the roller-coaster delights me. It is my job to make them happy, that is why I am here. That is why I wear this mask and this fake smile, being Mickey Mouse for all those people that come to visit.
Every time new people enter, especially the children, I can see how joy starts to fill their bodies and how amazed they are by all those parades and roller coasters. They start to walk around, frantically wanting to try every attraction in the theme park, but realizing that they won’t be able to do everything, because time is fleeting and the park is way too large. Their nostrils start to fill with a combination of sweet and salty smell and their mouths are engulfed by toothsome cotton candy. Like a cloud of buzzing bees the people walk throughout the streets, waving at us, waving at me, as we proceed along the path in our huge, fancy, declarative wagons, forming the parade that everyone is waiting for. We, the parade, the small colourful houses, the humongous roller coasters with looping, and the peachy-pink fairy tale castle in the middle of it all that rises high into the blanket of clouds, form the dream of all kids: Disneyland.
All those things I see through my mask, with my second pair of eyes, my nose, my smile,
every day to every second, every minute of my life. And they adore me for who I am, not for who I really am, but for who I pretend to be. My whole life is an act, a part of a role play. You might think that it is wonderful, but it is not even near to being wonderful. You are trapped between reality and fantasy. I feel fake. I have no personality. I am just one of these cartoon figures that dances and cheers on the outside, but deep inside is feeling isolated and lonely. Disneyland may sound wonderful to you, but for me it is a horror I cannot escape.
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