I realize I'm sneaking this post in last-minute, (and by that, I mean right before the month ends) but that seems to be my pattern anyway.
Hopefully that habit will be changing soon, though, because I have much more serious goals concerning my blogging life!
As most of you know, throughout this last year I have really begun pinning down where my passions lie, and what that means as I start pursuing a career for after college. Writing has always been a strong-suit for me, yet after doing Journalism pretty seriously in high-school, I thought I had closed the door on that part of my "writing journey." I started this blog about a year-and-a-half ago, mostly for fun, but since then I have seen and learned so many things about the world, myself, and my love for the written-word!
Alongside writing, there is another passion that has overtaken me. Growing up, my mom has always been an absolute master in the kitchen. To this day, she sits down every Thursday night and goes through a binder (thicker than most of my college textbooks, I might add) to fish through recipes she's collected over the years for meals to make throughout the week. She's always been a healthy cook, too, but especially so in these last four or five years. She receives a "farmer-box" (formally called CSA for Community Supported Agriculture) every week, uses only (mostly) Cooking Light recipes, and all-around knows how to create not only food, but meals.
As a little girl, the fact that my mom made dinner for the entire family after teaching all day long was simply part of my life. Every day we would ask her, "Mom, what's for dinner?" because we always knew it would be something homemade! It wasn't until I hit college (stereotypical, I know) that I really discovered the appreciation I had for my mom's cooking, and thus how it triggered the immense love for food I have within me as well. (It was going to kick-in at some point, the genes for phenomenal cooks run too strong on both my mom and dad's sides).
Finally, then, this last year I began putting two-and-two together: I love to write, and I love food...what can I do with that? Bingo! The answer came and the dream began: I wanted to write about food. I wanted to go anywhere and everywhere, tasting my way around the world, around a city, around a kitchen, and write about what I learned. (Because let me tell you, there is a LOT you can learn from food). This summer I toured Sacramento Magazine, had an amazing interview with the editorial editor, and learned what it was like to really be in that profession. I left the conversation feeling more sure and more excited than I ever had about anything else I had pursued.
Earlier this week, I received a phone call from that same editor, telling me she had remembered how I mentioned I wanted to be a food-writer, and that had talked with their food critic about me. The food critic said she would love to chat with me, and all over again I felt that surge of joy--I had wanted to see the magazine's office to make a relationship, gain some information, and simply become educated before I let my ideals run wild. Getting that phone call was one more affirmation, almost, that yes, this is something I am meant to pursue.
Now I am waiting for a reply for when I can meet with her, and there I will again to make a connection with someone, (someone who happens to be doing the exact job I am interested in) and be able to learn even MORE about what writing, and food, and people mean to her and how she applies that into a career.
That being said, I am going to be starting a food blog alongside this blog, in which I will probably infuse some aspects of this blog into the food one. I am still researching it, wanting to get a good solid start before I jump in, but be ready, because it is coming and it will be something I take seriously!
Lastly I just want to thank all of you. I don't really know who reads this, and whether it is all the time or just a pop-in every once in awhile, but I feel your support regardless. I have processed on this blog, shared, learned, and more, and you have been with me every step of the way!
Here's to, yet again, another chapter. :)
