ciao samin

i am human: alongside my joys and successes are disappointments and challenges. i terribly abuse most punctuation marks, especially the comma, whose overuse i picked up from a friend years ago (we no longer speak, but i cannot let go of this habit for the life of me).

i don't call my parents often enough, it's been weeks since i vacuumed, and i haven't handwritten a thank-you note for almost two years. yep. i'm still figuring all of that out.

i've been bumbling through life for a long time now, knowing that i won't be in kitchens for the rest of my life, but not knowing much more. i have wanted to write since long before i was a cook. i've talked about it for so long. and now, i feel like i am finally doing something about it. from the people who have supported me (CL), encouraged me and told me to suck it up (AH) to the people i've learned from (MP) and bothered endlessly for advice (BAP, KS and NC), well, i couldn't have taken even these baby steps without them.

i started last year hoping for a fulbright to make up for the one i so nearly missed out on six years ago. i didn't get it, and instead turned my energy toward writing. amidst 60 hour workweeks, a crazy gym schedule, and just general lunacy, i managed to get published in meatpaper and esf. this year, i made it my goal to get published in one major publication, and today, that goal has been accomplished. i feel so empowered--each little step gives me so much more confidence to ask for something bigger.

one little thing leads to another little thing, and one day you look back and wonder, how did this happen? i am so lucky, and so grateful, for all of the wonderful people who surround me. i look around me and i see writers, farmers, filmmakers, and amazing, generous cooks. i see musicians, bakers, amazing athletes, parents of gorgeous, intelligent children. there are craftspeople, photographers, winemakers, architects, gardeners, and academics. how did i end up in such a cradle of beauty?

this blog is a silly place, a journal i started when i lived in italy to keep in touch with my friends. i don't know what it's become, exactly, or how it will change. but i will always be human. i will always be me. and i invite you to come along with me on this journey, as part of this dazzling, silky web of doers i am so proud to be a part of.