Decisions, decisions..

I've been recently finding it quite hard to work and go to school this quarter. It's not because it's difficult, it's just hard finding motivation. And I've been looking everywhere. I can tell that I haven't been trying as hard as I used to when I first started school and when I first started working. I keep asking myself why. Days and days will pass by and I wonder what have I been doing...

I started to question is this where I want to be in life. Which is something I think everyone does around this point in time where graduation isn't too far away. And maybe the reason I felt that way is because even if I had made a plan, life never goes to plan. No matter how hard you may want it to. And I've run out of things to do to ignore this ever-pending decision of what I want to do with the rest of my life...

And though I'd like to finish this post saying that I've figured that out, I haven't. But at least I'm aware now that there is a decision to be made instead of ignoring it. I'm sure it will fall upon me eventually. I'll just be patient until that happens.

Thanks,

-Nikkos

I am not entirely sure how to start this off, besides that my life has  been completely changed over the past week. My world has been turned upside down and inside out. 

A week from today, the pastry team left from Louisville Airport to go to the IKA Culinary Olympics. We arrived in Germany 10 hours later, and I experienced what it is like to have your breath taken away.

 Words honestly cant describe the beauty, the culture, the architecture. 
We spent 72 hours, barely any sleep, and left the Ibis Hotel at 4:00am to arrive at the arena 5:00 am, to set up, and be judged at 7:00am. We did not receive results until 5:00 pm. That was by far the definition of anxiety. My name was called, along with a silver medal. I could never be happier. My life has changed forever. There is a fire lit in my soul to work, discover, live for this profession forever. I am in love with Butter. Plain and simple.    

Finishing out strong!

   Ah the start of a brand new quarter! & my last quarter in my associates too! So far this quarter is awesome! I go to class 11-2 and have a pretty decent schedule. Religion, public speaking and microeconomics. At first, I was terrified to take micro, but I am really starting to enjoy it! Who knew you could receive so much interesting information from a class? I think I really enjoy the concept behind economics. Not being in a lab is really weird. I already miss it sooo much! This is it last quarter! :) Bittersweet ending if you ask me, but the memories you make in college are worth a life time and I have so many of these memories. :)

-Allysa

My Life... Simply Amazingg

     When I decided to attend Sullivan University I thought I was just going to school to get a degree. As I am getting so much closer to having my associates degree in Culinary Arts I realize what I have really gotten is much more.
     While working an amazing event for the James Beard Foundation this weekend I not only got to rub elbows with Louisvilles finest Chefs, but i was also offered positions working for them.  When the dinner was all said and done the Sullivan students walked through the dining room to recieve recognition and I must say I have never felt so appreciated and liked by so many strangers. In that moment I realized this is what I do this for. I want to spent my life doing what I love and I get to make people happy along the way. 
     I can't stress enough the amazingggg opportunities I am getting in this career and I couldn't be more sure that I chose the right path for me.

not only do i love college... i love that Sullivan is my college :)

-Carly

wow!

wow is all i can say right now! im sitting here thinking about how i can obtain a college degree at Sullivan in such a SHORT TIME! Im so excited to say that i only have 3 more months to go to finish with my associate's degree! I have been here for a year and 3 months but it feels like its only been a couple months. c-r-a-z-yyyy! 

if yall remember we told you about the two week breaks that we get in between quarters. guess what i am doing? ... just relaxing (plus sleeping, sleeping, sleeping. and eating and more lazy stuff :))  and enjoying my time off because thats what you're supposed to do on breaks, right!?

Quater by Quarter.

After everything is said and done, I am entering my sixth quarter. I am now beginning my sixth out of 6 quarters. The past 5 have flown by so fast, I cannot explain how much I have learned and how incredible my experience has been so far. 

What I have learned...

You can only get what you take.

Very quickly, I discovered this lesson. My first day in lab, I took a step back. First impressions mean everything. I could see the hard workers, the people who are self motivated, as well as the students that did not seem excited for the tasks at hand. The students I recognized as "self motivated" at the beginning of the quarter, had advanced to a whole new level by the end. The other individuals stayed stagnant, like luke warm water, and were just glad to pass. I realized you can only learn what you are willing to learn. That decision is up to you. 

Channel stress into productivity. 

II have always been a procrastinator. With Procrastination, comes stress, along with anxiety. By my third quarter, I had reached classical. You have not lived a day in the hi-paced baking world till you have survived Scott Turners lab. Through sweat and tears (a lot of sweat might I add,) I realized throwing a pity party over a mistake was not going to fix that mistake. I took my disappointment by the handles and drove it into a punctual tunnel of precision and self-motivation. Instead of crying, I chose to be great and strive for nothing less of perfect. 

Expect problems and eat them for breakfast

The best way to have a successful day,  is to wake up smiling like a sunshine ray. 

"I love to smile, smiling's my favorite."-Buddy the elf. Buddy is right.  Do not Murphy's law, change the outcome of your day. If you wake up feeling groggy and unmotivated, something needs to change. When something goes wrong, fix it and make it better; remember to smile like no ones watching. Live every moment aiming for success, and by my deffinition-success means nothing less than happiness. 

August 30th, 2012. <3

learn from every struggle!

Oh my! I have 2 finals between me and the end of my SEVENTH quarter! This is just complete nonsense! I now have my culinary degree and I am half way through my baking degree with just 2 quarters to go! This is just crazy to me! I cannot believe how far I have come through the past year and a half or so! To get on with all this, I had my baking 2 final this past week! I was so ready for it! 5 swans and 5 baguettes in 2 days, I had this no problem! Day 1 pastry cream and pate choux done and perfect! I was ready to get day 2 going! Tuesday morning came; I got my baguettes going and finished my swans. My swans turned out pretty darn good, not perfect but great! I just needed to finish my baguettes! I was on it, until I got my dough out of the proofer to weigh and bench rest. My dough was too sticky to even handle n deal with! Now baguette dough is sticky tacky dough, but this was like batter. I then realized I could work flour into my dough and rest it; I did this 3 times! I was also short one whole baguette! At this point, I had bad dough, not the right amount of baguettes, and I would be late putting my finish product up. You can imagine how frustrated and upset I was. I was ready to toss it and just cry! But being the positive person that I am, I literally told myself “it’s better to be late, then to not present at all” “it’s better to have something then nothing at all!” I persevered and pushed through it all! I kept going, I finally got my baguettes baked off and they turned out pretty good besides being 30 mins late! Chef told me she was proud of how well I handled my dough being so sticky and the struggle! I left my final practical beat; I felt I had lost it all! But in the end, it wasn’t about the grade I ended up getting, it was about the struggle, the fight, and everything I learned and overcame in that small moment! I ended up coming out on top and possibly better off than the people that did really well because I fought the battle and I won! :)  All the practicals you will have to go through aren’t just to test you and your skill; it’s also for your benefit of learning how to handle all situations and struggles! Look at everything in a different perspective, a positive one and learn from what you see, take it with you wherever you may go! :) And never I mean NEVER give up! Especially if it’s something you love!

                                                                Love and happiness <3

                                                                                Gabrielle! :)