I'm Back!!!

Yes, it is true...I am back!!  The truth is that, although it was good for me to stop for a while, I truly missed writing my blog.  A lot has changed in the past several months that has allowed me to be back here, sharing with you.  =)  

First of all, I am no longer in culinary school.  Half way through my schooling I began to notice that I took more of an interest in my academic classes than the cooking classes.  While the other students were complaining about having to take the academics, I was getting increasingly frustrated because they were interrupting my academic education with their unwillingness to participate.  All they wanted to do was cook.  They could cook in school all day, work a 16 hour shift cooking at a restaurant and still want to go home and cook more.  I noticed the same thing with the chefs in the culinary competitions I watched on Food Network.  In those moments, I knew they possessed a passion for cooking that I did not.  I do love to cook, don't get me wrong, but not like that.  To be a chef, the passion for cooking must consume you.  It will take more than 15-20 years working in multiple kitchens for barely above minimum wage to get to the level that most aspiring chefs want to be.  It will take multiple sacrifices to get there.  Many chefs have sacrificed any other wants, desires and even their families to achieve their culinary dream.  That is not me.  I don't "love" cooking like that.  I learned all the basics I needed to be a better cook for my family and friends, and I will continue to learn from Food Network, YouTube and cooking books.

Since leaving school I have become employed back in Corporate America.  Shocking...I know.  After all, I said I so disliked the corporate world, that it was like prison for me and I would never go back.  This causes me to reflect on the words my mother has said to me, time and time again, since I was a little girl... "Never say never, because that is when it will happen."  Yes, she was right.  Write it down mom!  I actually said you are right! LOL  I was injured while working in a kitchen and had to be put on light duty as I could not use my right hand for a couple of months.  While on light duty I still had to work, so they had me shredding papers in their office.  It was so freaking boring, but I loved the office staff and it made me miss being in an office.  Also, working in the food industry, or any retail industry, requires days, nights, weekends and holidays.  In other words, very very few days off.  My husband works in an office and we barely saw each other nor could we plan any weekend getaways or family visits because I was constantly working.  Lets just say the experience gave me a new appreciation for my corporate work, or I was just spoiled after having nights, weekends, and holidays off for so many years.  Either way, I wanted it back.  I now work for Bank of America and I love it.  The people I work with are nice, helpful and MATURE.  All things I struggled to find in my previous office job in Texas.  I have come to realize that I was judging the entire corporate world by one or two jobs I held over the years.  

Now I'm in a job I am enjoying and leaves me plenty of off time.  I still have things I want to do and want to start up my own business as well.  In this day and age, I don't want to depend on just one stream of income to get me through the rest of my life.  The one thing that I love and keep coming back to is photography.  I am absolutely fascinated by photography and always have been.  I love the art side of it.  I'm not a wedding or portraiture photographer...that's just not where my heart is.  I want to capture people, nature, things and places as art.  I want to highlight all the things that God has created and bring awareness to the things that so many people are just too busy to stop and notice on a daily basis.  I'm also going to focus on doing some writing; which is something I started doing when I was just 13 years old and have always enjoyed.  With being married and raising my children, writing took a back seat for a lot of years.  I am so excited that I have now finally realized writing and photography are my greatest passions and I am ready to pursue them fully.

Hopefully, I will have many interesting things to share and show.  It may take a few months as I need to make some rather big purchases to get started back into photography and set up a home office.  This poor old computer I now use is so slow that I cannot do any photo editing.  It can take me an hour just to edit one photo because the computer freezes so much.  My first purchase will be an Apple computer.  I've always wanted one and they are fabulous for photography.  I will also need a desk and chair for my office and I am going to purchase a new camera along with accessories that I have needed for far too long.  Until I get all set up, my posts may be few and far between and maybe a bit boring, but I will try my best to make them interesting...LOL

I'm so excited about my continued life journey, upcoming new adventures and sharing it all with you.

Thanks for reading "All About My Business"
Crystal Campbell
Photographer/Writer