will work for food
I don't think it's unusual to graduate and feel a little lost.
For years I had my life set out for me and a guideline to follow. I remember telling my art teacher in high school that I found it strange that we go to preschool to prepare for kindergarden, to prepare for elementary school, to prepare for high school, to prepare for college or university, to prepare for our careers, where we anticipate our retirement and then plan the last years of our lives. He told me I couldn't look at life that way. In hindsight, he was right.
It is a big open world out there and I have to stop bowing my head in shame when people ask what I'm doing now. While it's hard to believe that I haven't been offered the perfect job with a high salary and a spot on Oprah yet, it's something I have to accept.
I am living at home, I haven't started working yet, I don't know how to drive and I still need to learn how to ride a bike. All of these things keep coming up in conversation and I struggle with where I stand.
But at the same time the past years of my life have been so well lived I need to focus on how far I've come and how far I can go. I finished four years in a competitive program, lived in Paris, had my first photography exhibit, helped start a fine dining business, loved a lot, ate well, and grew into the young woman I had always hoped to me.
I am happy, healthy, strong-minded and full of ideas. If it means waiting tables to make a bit of money to do what I really want to do, so be it. I know where I want to go and I'm prepared to take baby steps to get there.
And under the backdrop of the mountains, the ocean and this beautiful city I will continue to enjoy my true passions, spending time with those I love and cooking up a storm.
What does food mean to you and what role does it play in your life? Post your own personal story in the comment section and you will be entered to win a great cookbook by Donna Hay! This gorgeous book is filled with great photos and tempting recipes.
For years I had my life set out for me and a guideline to follow. I remember telling my art teacher in high school that I found it strange that we go to preschool to prepare for kindergarden, to prepare for elementary school, to prepare for high school, to prepare for college or university, to prepare for our careers, where we anticipate our retirement and then plan the last years of our lives. He told me I couldn't look at life that way. In hindsight, he was right.
It is a big open world out there and I have to stop bowing my head in shame when people ask what I'm doing now. While it's hard to believe that I haven't been offered the perfect job with a high salary and a spot on Oprah yet, it's something I have to accept.
I am living at home, I haven't started working yet, I don't know how to drive and I still need to learn how to ride a bike. All of these things keep coming up in conversation and I struggle with where I stand.
But at the same time the past years of my life have been so well lived I need to focus on how far I've come and how far I can go. I finished four years in a competitive program, lived in Paris, had my first photography exhibit, helped start a fine dining business, loved a lot, ate well, and grew into the young woman I had always hoped to me.
I am happy, healthy, strong-minded and full of ideas. If it means waiting tables to make a bit of money to do what I really want to do, so be it. I know where I want to go and I'm prepared to take baby steps to get there.
And under the backdrop of the mountains, the ocean and this beautiful city I will continue to enjoy my true passions, spending time with those I love and cooking up a storm.
What does food mean to you and what role does it play in your life? Post your own personal story in the comment section and you will be entered to win a great cookbook by Donna Hay! This gorgeous book is filled with great photos and tempting recipes.
posted by Gillian Young at 4:37 PM
4 Comments:
Some of my favourite career advice came from an interview with the IBM CEO, Sam Palmisano:
"...take horizontal rather than vertical steps: ...try out situations that are unstructured, to learn different ways of working, and to get outside of headquarters and experience different cultures."
I like this because it means each experience is a piece of the puzzle, instead of a rung on the ladder.
And food to me is about healthy replenishment, sensory nourishment, and the commensality, sharing food with friends as a bonding experience.
Food means so many different things.
When it's with family, it's a part of history, and a part of who I am. It's home-made ravioli and recipes handed down, it's laughter and "thank you!"s and time together.
Eating alone, and cooking for myself, is independence and self-love. It's nourishing myself, inside and out. It's adventurous recipes, and honing my skills so I can impress, and fulfill the needs of the people I care about.
When I eat with J (my man), it's foreplay, or showing each other how much we care, or building a life together. It's starting our own traditions and taking time time to bond.
I appreciate food for its taste, but I appreciate it most for the memory, or the hope, I attach to it.
Gill,
Your post made me feel so much better about some of my own experiences while learning how to drive (I still don't have a licence, either) and your points on how to live life to the fullest. It really brought me up. Thank you.
Greetings from the Nation's Capital Gillian!
Such a scrumptious question Gillian. My mind races Smorgasbord style as I ragoût over this. Thoughts have simmered, although deglazed this still comes to you Au jus and by no means sugar coated.
Food to me brings me back to my very first job at age 15 working along side my mother at a well established, still operating prestigious restaurant. At first hesitant I cuddled this opportunity, my youth caused me to do my share of curdling along the way. The experiences I gained at such a young age and during my five year existence at this restaurant it can best be described as morsels of dim sum. She never overwhelmed my plate at work as my mother always welcomed me back to replenish after absorbing, to further learn while retaining what I had previously ingested. As time passed, I, my taste buds sampled every aspect of the food industry as did my vision to create dishes to this very day. So thanks goes to my mom for giving me a home within my home, that being the kitchen. I will forever be your sous-chef, chef Irene.
Both my mom and I still visit this restaurant shrine with historic memories attached for Sunday brunch, to go back in time of what once was where our conversation always begin with "Remember when" which is then quickly followed by a shared smile. I still keep my mother's buffet dish half empty knowing I can always come back for more.
Rich
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