The Culture of Respect

As a novice food creator, I have met people who do what I do to one degree. There is a comforting humility that I can identify with. I think of them as so much more than I am. I am startled when I realize that they think of me in some ways the same, in the context of each owning our particular strengths. It is then that gaining friendships like these is very important. We need each other, and the world needs our collaboration.

We all carry a piece of the story. Commercial merry-go-rounds have nothing on us. It is learning about them through the food they create and the goals they wish to obtain. I agree that we all need those willing to go one hundred thousand dollars or more in debt to throw the dice loaded in opposition to their success to start a delicious food business. Without their bravery, people like us could never have become self-aware of our creativity.

We are a community, past, present, and future. We support one another. It is a language and something that must be earned. At first, if we have a chip on our shoulder, we are dead to those who spent many sleepless years mustering a good attitude even when they were handled rudely, the many burns and cuts endured, the smoke and sweat, and mismatched acknowledgment. There are times when nothing makes sense.

But there is something inside that makes them go on. Here I am, someone who landed on the highway through a most fortunate mishap in which I jumped the guard rail and lived to tell about it. I hope that I am humble enough to be accepted. I do my best to shut up and listen.

If I had my way, I would live the next 3 years with families in other countries and just live as they do, under their rules. One year in Vietnam, one year in South Korea, and finally, a year in Japan before traveling back across the Pacific to allow all of the respect I learned to shine in my creativity and words. But that is just a dream. How can I get as close to that experience as possible without actually that happening? That is what I am still trying to figure out.

All I know is that I must move forward. That is all. I will figure out the rest and hopefully make some friends and even some family along the way.

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