the jitters are back

Culinary School has been out for winter break for the past 4 weeks, but tonight is my first day of my second semester.  My morning has been spent removing my nail polish that I immediately had done after my final, ironing my uniform, and sharpening my knives.  I've also been thinking a lot about how I'm feeling about starting school again.

I reread my post about my first day of school from last semester and was immediately reminded of the "first day at a new school-I don't know anyone-is anyone going to like me-what if I don't know the right answer-gosh, I hope the instructors aren't mean-sweaty palms" kind of jitters.  I am feeling nervous today...actually, the nerves showed up a few days ago.  But I'm happy to say that it is different this time.  I made some nice friends last semester and some of them will be in my class again, I've learned that it's okay to not always know the right answer (plus, no one really likes the person who always knows the right answer), the instructors aren't mean, and I will survive this semester just like I survived the last one.

But as I said, I am feeling nervous.  I know what's ahead of me.  I know what's expected of me.  I know that I will live way outside of my comfort zone until my final on April 17 (that's my birthday, by the way).  I know that I will make mistakes, but I'm comforted in knowing that I will learn from them.  All of this makes me nervous.

I've also started to think about what I want to do when culinary school is over...and my head really needs to shut-up about that.  I made a promise to myself when I started this adventure to focus on the experience and to simply push the pause button on "what happens next".  That's hard for me to do.  But, I believe it is essential to my well-being and to ensure that I get the most out of this experience.  The fact that this thought is creeping in is adding to the nervous thing.

Below is a photo of the bag I use for school.  I adore this bag for many reasons, most importantly, because it is from my amazing friend Leslie's Trust Life line of products (www.trustlifetoday.com) and 2) it reminds me to simply trust this adventure.  I am following my bliss and that's the best I can do for now.

So, once again, on this first day of school, I'm reminded to welcome these jitters because they are a part of this crazy, wonderful experience.