tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439398.post-28874483841855961532008-06-23T22:55:00.000-07:002008-06-23T23:18:36.484-07:002008-06-23T23:18:36.484-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_ynxUWqyDAU0/SGCNOyb1osI/AAAAAAAAAUk/nOig_gqg7ks/s1600-h/ESF-JUN08-cover-450.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_ynxUWqyDAU0/SGCNOyb1osI/AAAAAAAAAUk/nOig_gqg7ks/s400/ESF-JUN08-cover-450.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215323653691253442" /></a><br /><br /><br />i can clearly remember when i realized i wanted to write--11th grade advanced english. i'd always eaten up books voraciously, and that class renewed my passion for reading after several years of super-duper dorky seminar level classes where i stopped caring about books and only cared about grades. we read, and we wrote, and i realized it was what gave me peace. <br /><br />i've always loved to tell stories, and as a writer, i have always done best as a story-teller. i made it my new year's resolution to publish at least two stories this year, and now, i am halfway there. after the class with mp last year, i felt encouraged to reapply for the fulbright. with a recommendation from him, one from alice, and one from my shakespeare scholar professor, i felt like my application was impeccable. five years ago, i was the first alternate for a fulbright to italy to catalog traditional and endangered food-making techniques. i felt like this time, i could only do better. my writing was better, my idea more focussed, my recommenders knew me better--i had a great shot, right? <br /><br />well, i was wrong. i was out in the first round. more than being devastated, i was shocked. i realized i had a decision to make--fall into a funk, or fall into action. mp, just as bewildered as i was, encouraged me to just write. so i did. i planned to write an article about garlic, and along the way, met <a href="http://www.chesteraaron.com">chester aaron</a>, a man whose story i knew i couldn't do justice to in just 1500 words. but i foolishly tried, and amazingly, ended up with <a href="http://ediblesanfrancisco.com/index.php/Table/June/July-08/Issue-12/">this.</a> how it became the cover story, i'll never know. i think it was because of<a href="http://www.3am.net/"> winni's</a> beautiful photos. <br /><br />the best part about all of this is that it gives me some momentum, and some faith in myself. i've been saying i want to write for so long without having anything to show for it. i turned down so many chances that didn't feel right, and have missed many opportunities i thought were my only shot. but now, i've started my way down the path i've been waiting to walk for so many years, and i can see that this is the way it was always meant to be.<br /><br />***i'm not sure if they'll put the story online, but i have a hunch that they will eventually, so keep checking!saminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10581019764819768286noreply@blogger.com