Persevere

By: Halie Raymer

Persevere: To continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no indication of success. On January 20, 2012, I attended my first "show piece," competition in Pontiac, Michigan. I was oblivious to how dramatically this event would transform my life. Over the previous two weeks, I had been enduring my first real taste of physical labor. Every. Single. Morning... I would wake up before the birds, at approximately 4:00am, to be ready and mentally focused to sculpt puff pastry fat at 5:00am. 2 hours before my first lab even started. To top it off, I would stay after school till around 3pm. near everyday. All was not lost. My piece blossomed into a magical story. It was unbelievable, almost unfathomable, to see the difference between my premature blueprint and my final product. So much had changed from the image I had once pictured in my mind. The long hard work, the exhausting hours, the mental and physical integrity molded into this piece, eventually gave me the most satisfying emotion I have ever endured in my life.  I was given the privilege of meeting the judges, three certified master chefs. These words still choke up my throat.  To face these chefs, individuals that know more about the baking and pastry world in a single cell than I do in my entire body, was unbelievable in itself. But to hear that my piece was substantial enough to be held to an olympic standard? The emotion was so, astonishing. Overwhelming. I cried tears of joy for the first time in my life. That is a feeling I wouldn't trade for the entire world <3