The Importance Of Self-Confidence

When we have a passion for something, we often compare ourselves to the experts around us. Not understanding that they've been doing it for years. It's important to keep in mind that your first few attempts won't be what you expected. Sometimes, however, we want to stop altogether when things don't go our way. This doesn't mean that you should give up, though. Only practice makes perfect.

From the age of around six years old, I've always wanted to be involved with food. I grew up in front of the Food Network channel. My dad tried to convince me otherwise for a while. Like most Afro-Caribbean parents, he didn't understand that you couldn't only get a good job by going to university. But that's a story for another time. When my mid-teen years came I enrolled in a newly-built high school. The only secondary in my area that had culinary classes and a SHSM (Specialty High Skills Major) program. I loved it. It was my escape and my chef was, and still is, a big influence in my life. He helped me get through many ups and downs and actually taught core fundamentals in the world of food. How important it was to be sustainable and how to support our local area. I cared about his classes more than chemistry, accounting, and basketball. All things that my parents were encouraging me to excel in. It wasn't until they saw how hard I worked to graduate from high school with honors, a red seal in the culinary SHSM, a $300 bursary, and a gifted textbook for my future college program in the fall that they realized, this was it. This is what their daughter wanted to do with her life. Nobody could change my mind. And when I got to college, yeah...it was tiring and sometimes annoying. But it was a blast and I learned so many things and connected with so many professionals in my city, province, and country. I took four programs over seven years. Three separate diplomas for the Culinary and Baking Arts. My last four years were for a bachelor's degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management. Here are some pictures from those classes.

Just before I started my degree program, though, I felt weird. I felt unsure and realized how difficult it would be to start, run and maintain a business. Everyone was asking me what I planned on doing with so many years of school under my belt. I choked. I got nervous. What WAS I gonna do? My friends and family loved when I made dishes for gatherings or when I was experimenting and were constantly telling me what I should do. I know they meant well, but it made me shut down even more. It also didn't help that the baked goods I tried making in my spare time never came out the way I wanted them to. I was so disheartened by that that I eventually stopped trying. I felt like I should've listened to my dad and chose something else as a career. This way of feeling even affected me when it came to looking for jobs. If I didn't think I was good enough, why would I go apply to work at a nice restaurant or bakery? I felt like everything I had earned and had done was a waste of time and money. Some of my earlier creations.

A few years into my degree program, I got a job at a nearby catering company. They had a bakery that needed some help. To this day, I am positive it was one of the best decisions of my life. The head bakers there worked with me and helped fix my flaws. Empowered me and let me decorate cakes and cupcakes for the store. This job gave me an environment where I could truly practice what I loved without the constraints of life and school. These are some of the products I baked for them.

I gained such a confidence boost that I started baking again and posting the results online. Come 2021, I was finishing up my last (and thankfully, final) college semester. During this time, I entered an online baking competition and gained some exposure. I didn't win, but it was fun and showed me new perspectives. People started asking me to bake for them and wanted to pay me for my work. Here are some pictures from that time.

If you made it this far, I thank you for reading my story. Hopefully, you or someone you know can relate to what I went through. If so, know you aren't alone. Understand that these feelings won't completely leave but it's up to you to push them away every time they come back. Surround yourself with positive vibes and you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll perfect your craft.