True To Me. And Only Me.

One of my favorite things to hear about is people reminiscing about their ages and dishing out their epiphanies. . 

 "Oh, honey, it wasn't until I was 30 years old that I discovered myself." 

"At 21, I went to Africa and for the first time, I realized my true identity." 

"When I had my first child, at 24, I realized what true love really is." 

"At 35, I had a major epiphany about my life and that's when I decided to..."

It's something about hearing these tales that bring me closer to the person speaking and also makes me think more about my life. I, personally, haven't had any epiphanies attached to my age, although:

"I really loved being 23 - first year of teaching, New York, marriage"

"And I loved 24, because it felt like two consecutive great years."

"At 26, I swear my metabolism slowed and my body changed."

HOWEVER - thank God my story does not end at 26. Honestly, y'all, I don't know if it's culinary school. My age. My many prayers on this subject. A combination of all three. But I feel so true to me right now. I feel genuinely me. I feel like I am where I belong. I am who I'm supposed to be. I feel so comfortable in my skin. The bondage of perfectionism - of over-critical thoughts - of thin skin are slowly melting away. I know what I like. Okay, too strong, I'm discovering what I like. Who I am. What's my working style. What's MY style. I'm analyzing EVERYTHING - do I like this? Am I drawn to this look? Do I REALLY like the way this taste?

Now as I admitted, I've prayed about embodying self- awareness, humble confidence for ever.  So, the mere feeling of getting started on this journey to discovery feels empowering and refreshing. I also think that this exploration comes with being in the "art" field. It feels good to finally be in a field where I am not only constantly thinking about math, measurements, writing (recipes), strict deadlines, time restrictions but also about how things taste, look, and how they are created. Anyways, I can run my mouth about this all day. But just wanted to share, because I love to hear people's age stories... so if you have ANY age epiphanies PLEASE shout them my way (comment section, e-mail, text, call, in person, whatevs).