A lot has changed since my last post on this blog. I had large intentions for this blog. Perhaps my intentions will once again surface and the blog will evolve to my original idea of being a place of education on food politics and current food events.
However, life has taken a turn and I find myself reinterpreting what "peace, love, and produce" means to me.
Since July I have been a strict non-meat eater, other than the occasional fish and shellfish. I guess I'm a pescatarian? It comes up on spell-check so not quite sure it's a word. And I don't really enjoy labels. Too much rigidity. Produce and I have had a great relationship always and as I now rely on it much more with my mostly vegetable and grain diet, I appreciate the flavors of organic, seasonal, and local. I also appreciate the price :)
On to the next. My mom gave me a candle about a year ago and it had a girl with a cape and a tiara on it. The candle said, "I'm certain that given a tiara, I can change the world". I put it in my bathroom for daily inspiration. Yet, I always felt a bit inauthentic in my corporate HR job, making good money, not really doing anything awe-inspiring, motivational, or world changing. I've always wanted to do something good and impactful. It's the reason I've job hopped. So, after a reasonably sized quarter life turning point, I went to part-time employment, applied to graduate school, and started my journey to pursue to Masters in Education in helping people :) Well, more specifically, School Counseling.
So now, peace and love mean something different to me. Before it was about peace and love to animals and our bodies. I still believe in that. But now I also believe in inner peace, balance, fulfillment, and letting go of our ego to pursue something that can really make us happy, truly happy. I believe in helping people beyond what you are capable of. I believe in unconditional love, even to people who are strangers but they need your help. I believe in equality and anti-bullying in our schools. I believe in acceptance, open-mindedness, and closing the cultural gaps.
Most importantly, I believe in change. I believe that we can take risks, become terrified, be downright broke, have an empty fridge....but have a heart that has purpose, find support from loved ones, and have the courage to overcome the obstacles. I believe that we deserve what's best for ourselves even though it may be the scariest thing we can do. I believe we all have an opportunity to stop, turn left, and do something different if it's going to make us happier.
I have a favorite quote from Led Zeppelin. You may have heard it once when you were air guitaring back in the 70s. "You still have time to change the road you're on". It's never too late to make change for the better.
I welcome you to follow me on this journey. Through graduate school, through life as a new vegetarian(ish), sometimes vegan, through my quarter-life turning point that has left me changed and happy and broke and pursuing something that I hope can help change the world.
