Phoebe- week 9: What Nobody Tells You About Growing Up

 

Similarly to many other people, as a child, I went through phases where I enjoyed different hobbies and my passions often changed. However, after my musician, basketball, then dance phase, I found myself falling in love with something completely new, baking. This time, I felt that it wasn't just a phase because it was truly something that brought me happiness and relieved any stress or concerns. While my mom often baked simple things like brownies and cookies, and my grandmother enjoyed baking family recipes, my family didn’t have much of a background in culinary arts. I initially discovered my love for baking when watching shows such as Kids Baking Championship and Cake Wars. I was intrigued by the desserts that both looked delicious and had beautiful presentations. As my passion for baking grew, I began to bake all the time. I was in middle school therefore, looking back at my schedule, it was constantly empty, almost always leaving me time to test new recipes. My family loved seeing me enjoy baking so eventually when my skills were advanced enough and I had done tons of research, my parents helped me create a website, custom logo, and beautiful boxes with my logo to sell my french macarons in. While of course as a baker, I perfected all the basics first, I was far more interested in baking decadent french pastries and desserts. I would spend hours on difficult recipes such as eclairs, cream puffs, and my favorite, french macarons which I would later perfect. My love for baking continued to grow and it became a big part of my personality. I was constantly baking and watching shows about baking. I aspired to be a contestant on Kids Baking Championships which happened to be my favorite show. 

 In fact, after I perfected my french macaron recipe along with many others and began to sell various flavors, my mom allowed and helped me apply for the show. Of course there was a low possibility of even hearing back from them, but rest assured that I truly believed in myself. Going through the tedious process was a lot of work and after submitting my application only a few days later, I had a scheduled meeting with one of the workers there. It was such an amazing interview but of course I was one of thousands of kids and unfortunately wasn’t picked. However, this didn’t discourage me at all. I continued to bake for as long as I can remember until I suddenly reached high school. 

Nobody tells you that when you enter high school you are left with no time for yourself. Of course I have free weekends, but they are constantly filled with tons of stressful work. I began to fall out of love with baking not because I didn’t enjoy it anymore but simply because I was too stressed and didn’t have the time. I look back and find it upsetting that I had to give up something I truly loved because of how stressful school became. Instead of being something I looked forward to doing, baking became a “waste of my time,” or so I thought at the time. I wish I never stopped baking and continued to pursue my passion, however a big part of me still believes that one day I’ll return to baking. Do you have a passion you wished you never lost growing up?