English Paper

Personal-Professional Narrative

Allanna James

The University of Arizona Global Campus

ENG 121: English Composition I

Professor Lynndi Tennyson-Kesler

29 March 2021

Personal-Professional Narrative

Think about a time where you ate the most delicious food of your entire life. I am certain there is one food that brings a smile to your face. It can also be so surreal that it seems as though you can taste it. These are the kind of food that will stay implanted as a lovely memory. Whether heartbreak, a cold snowy day, or a summer vacation, food is always apart of those memories. And those are the types of memories I want to create with my food truck. My journey to figure out my next career path has not been easy. Stepping out on faith, and overcoming future challenges are all apart of new career path.

The journey to really find my passion was not an easy one. Even as a small child, I never really knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. So after realizing that I would not be spending 20 years in the military, I was stuck for a while. While I was recovering from surgery, I found that I enjoyed watching the cooking channel. While watching the cooking channel I became more intrigued and I thought, I can do that. I have always enjoyed cooking dinner, and also having big family or friend dinners. Thinking back, if I had to narrow down one event that shaped who I am as a person it would be cooking with my grandmother. That is where I truly believe my love for cooking was created.

As I kid, I did not appreciate what was happening while I was sitting in the kitchen.I had a front row seat to making big fluffy buttery biscuits and watching her smear grape jelly before sharing with me. I can still hear the sizzle of the frying pork chops and the smell of a delicious brown gravy. All while softly humming her favorite church Hymm, and my clink of the wood wind chimes on a warm Sunday afternoon.

It wouldn’t be until much later that I realized how much food and family impacted my life. Upon joining the Air Force, I went from family to no family. Coming from the type of family that gets together for events and holidays, this was extremely difficult for me. Then one day I started meeting people and soon those friends became family. Holidays and long weekends were no longer boring because an extended family was born. The one thing you can count on when friends get together is there will be food. That is why I want to turn this passion for cooking into a career. These are my reasonings for wanting to give that type of experience that’s ever lasting. Although I have found my passion, the bigger question still remains. Can I possible turn this into a career?

Turning a passion into a career is an extremely scary giant step. Job security as well as a consistent paycheck is a huge amount to give up. Leaving all the security of your life to step out on faith. As a business owner I have to prepare for this and be able to recognize some of my future obstacles. Preparing for these challenges will assist in getting sidetrack because something did not go the way I thought it should. There will obviously be challenges. Part of that challenge is to finish my degree. Although for some this would not be considered a challenge, for me it has been difficult to come back to school. This is a challenge that I have to overcome in order to be successful in this food industry.

Realizing that I cannot please every customer is another challenge. Respecting others opinions, to include their negative remarks thoughts are all apart of this business. The will not be easy an easy task because it is so import to you. Maintaining a positive outlook and always continue to work on my craft will help in the preparation for those rough days. If I want others to invest in my business, I need to invest in myself and my passion. My education will be the biggest contributor of my success. Doing the hard work and research to graduate with my degree will only add to the foundation that I am setting.

Considering all of these, cooking is where my passion lies. It is the career path I chose for myself. I will be able to share those lovely experiences that I had with my grandmother. It will be difficult, and there will be challenges. All these things have prepared me to continue pushing even on the hard days.