|
My 2011 began with my best friend Phillip and I throwing some firecrackers out into the street and dancing in the bitter cold to some party music for the whole world to see for a good half hour. That crazy night of celebration was a fitting beginning for what has been a crazy year that included three different jobs and residences, lots of achievements, even more failures, plenty of life lessons and personal growth that all adds up to create the most successful and influential year of my life thus far.
Over the next three days, I invite you to join me in reflecting on the year I have had as I detail all that has occurred in my life in 2011. Given that I had three jobs in three different locations, those locations will be the chapters that I split the year into. Today, we begin in Provo, Utah back in January.
CHAPTER 1: PROVO
The outlook for the new year looked remarkable for me on January 1st, 2011. After battling through several years of health issues and other problems that stemmed from my chronic fatigue, I was somewhat back on track to where I wanted to be. After slowly working my way back into school last year, I registered for a full load of classes at BYU for winter semester, working towards my freshly declared major in Food Science. I was working part-time on campus at BYU Vehicle Rental and was enjoying the extremely stress-free environment of that job. After a week of classes, I altered my plans somewhat and dropped down to 6 credits, both to save money and because I just was not mentally ready for so many difficult classes, such as chemistry.
I completed my mission papers early in the year. Around the same time I was finishing them in February, I was presented with an opportunity that would allow me to pay for nearly half of a mission. I had planned on working through the summer and had applied at several places. I was about to begin a promising interview process for jobs in Alaska, when I received a phone call from the Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort. I had worked there a couple years back and applied as a back-up to my Alaska dreams because I knew the chef down there. As it turned out, the chef I knew left, but, the new executive chef saw my application, and out of the stack of over 50 applicants, wanted me to come down and be her sous chef. We talked of beginning my culinary training and how much I would benefit from working with her and how I would benefit the resort as well. The job would last through Thanksgiving, but I would walk away with more than a fair amount of money and more experience than I could imagine. Everything sounded and felt good, so I accepted.
I finished out the semester with good grades and prepared to move out after three years in the same apartment. Downsizing was difficult and moving out was hard, but we got it all taken care of and on April 25th, I left Provo and moved down to continue my exciting year on the east rim of Zion National Park…
TO BE CONTINUED...
Post a Comment