I Fell in Love with Other People’s Stories

After listening to other people’s stories, I learned to let go of my own story and craft a new path.

My bio was supposed to be a hundred words. Then I remembered why I started writing on Medium. Here it is for ease in case you haven’t checked it out yet, but in my search for perfection (which is probably a fault) and will most definitely hold me back from what I’ve read so far from all you other esteemed, more experienced writers, it will probably change tomorrow. Sorry, not sorry.

My work experience looks like a subway system. Success is never a straight path.

Half the fun is discovering what is a waste of time, what you pursued and made you go in circles, and what supports you.

This process can be painful and pointless at times. I took a detour during the pandemic to learn health and wellness coaching with a 2-year NBHWC-accredited program and studied functional nutrition.

I have never been able to make a living at it (beware the scam of coaching programs!), and at times, it felt like casting a fishing line into an empty pond.

But through it all, I learned how to talk with people, truly focus, and listen to people’s stories. I fell in love with other’s perspectives. It changed my life. I even started a podcast called Verbal Echo.

Now, here I am, back at the kitchen table, digging in the dirt again for meaning.

I hope you follow along on my discovery as I dive back into my passion in 2024 as I search for the “roots” of my authenticity.

My goals for the new year include simplicity, genuine connection, finding my center again, and creating a community.

I want to share with you my discoveries on working with plants, permaculture, gardening, and finding your true self with no b.s. and actionable strategies that are honest and practical.

We, as a society, have lost this. We need to find out who we are and let go of things that don’t support our journeys. 2024 is the year of growth!

When I was studying Sustainable Cuisine in 2010, I went to a small college in the Rockies with a robust culinary program that also included a sustainable culinary division.

We could choose between either path for an associate degree. I started on the traditional path, with an ACF (American Culinary Federation) internship.

I worked in the ski resort industry and learned from experienced notable chefs. It was hard. Not only were the hours ridiculous and I had to ride a snowcat or horse-drawn sleigh (true story) to and from work, but the layer that kept it from being “sustainable” was that I was a single mom of 40 years young.

Many nights I came home from work at one in the morning, smelling of grill smoke and dried meringue. But I pushed on through.

After 18 months into my internship program, I needed an extra elective, and I took a sustainable cuisine course as both programs shared most of the classes.

I was hooked and my passion for food politics, food security, growing actual food, and making the connection between what we eat and how we get food was sealed.

I began the switch to this program to finish out my culinary education. I watched most of my student peers either drop out of college as they got promotions at work or lose interest altogether and switch careers. They were also much younger than I was.

This may have sealed their fate as it takes a lot of determination (and abuse) to make a career in the culinary field.

This career is not like those Netflix programs.

If you believe chef shows are a reality, you’re in fantasy land. If you also believe you could cut it because you have great ideas about “mystery ingredients” just like Top Chefs, let me assure you they would eat you alive with humiliation long before you got to showcase your “talent” for cardamom and home kitchen gastronomy.

Here I am, fourteen years later, with burns all up and down my arms, one leg is longer than the other for standing so much on my feet incorrectly, but I can make some damn good beef stock. And yeah, I took the abuse.

I grew a thick skin and learned so many things about life: how to stay focused, be organized and clean, shut up and listen, embrace humility and listen to directions, be a real team member, and how to eat an amazing meal over a trash can from a dented pie tin.

This brings me to the garden. How did I get there?

I started a sustainability blog in culinary school for an assignment, and it spawned a small business and side hustle of personal cheffing.

I sold spices in farmers’ markets and to wholesale clients in local restaurants. I gathered my passion by connecting with people. I learned from their stories about what they loved to eat and how they loved to cook. I dug my hands in the dirt.

Although my work path has always been a distractive style that sometimes looked like a sprawling bus route, I’ve always been successful in my mind.

One thing I’ve learned to embrace is never to pass up an opportunity if it brings you joy and connection with others. It might not make a ton of bucks, but you might learn something about yourself along the way.

So here I am in 2024, ready to simplify some of my scattered bus routes and stick to the main transportation lines of what brings me joy: the Earth, the joy I get looking out over the view from the top of a hike with my dog is on my list.

The renewed sense of purpose I feel in caring for my plants brings my consciousness into focus. I have a burgeoning peace and connection when I practice yoga and plant my feet on the ground without shoes.

This feels like a subtle connection to the Earth. I use the time in meditation to ground myself and think about what is important to me now.

Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but right here, right now.

This year I plan on understanding myself more by learning to teach Yoga. It will be transformative. I plan on writing a lot.

I will share my journey back to plants and continue to learn more about the Earth that is under my feet, whether there is a Yoga mat between them or just my old muddy garden shoes.