A Dose of Transparency

I’m still not over it.

From behind my keyboard, I find myself yet again doing the thing I thought I was done with. Or maybe to phrase it better, this is the one thing I convinced myself I wasn’t ready to do again: writing. By way of a profession (you know, the thing that everyone does to get paid, while simultaneously complaining the pay isn’t enough), I’m a marketing director and photographer, not a wordsmith. To be honest, I’m not really sure where writing ever fit into my life. I do suppose creative writing can be likened to, well… me being a creative person. Maybe I am a wordsmith after all!

See, a few years back I started a blog dedicated to promoting visual artists and their work. While oftentimes this brought me much joy, and I gained traction, the work was exhausting. I set hard deadlines for publishing articles. When I crossed one task off my list, I would add two more. It was stressful and becoming increasingly burdensome. I was plagued with doubt, and seldom satisfied with my own ability to adequately promote these amazing artists who trusted me time and time again. Simply put, I wasn’t allowing myself enough time to write the way I wanted. As not to sour my own passion for art, I felt it best after a few years to simply walk away from blogging, without having eyed any specific return date. 

Different things over the years would continue to pique my interest, and I could hear that voice in the back of my mind saying, “You really should write about this… The people need to know.” Sure. But how? Blogging had me jaded. Would I reintroduce myself to the public on a new platform? Was I going to spend countless hours rebranding myself? Is my opinion truly even original? Definitely not. But relatable? I guess that remains to be seen. It stands to reason that I’ll never be documenting anything earth-shattering… Hell, half the reason I’m writing again is that everyone is an “influencer” nowadays, and meaningful content has taken the backseat to Instagram and TikTok. Instant gratification and social likes seemingly take precedence above all. I’m here to break that cycle and to give credit where credit’s due.

Enter cooking. Devoid of writing, I noticed my attention shift from underground art and street culture to the culinary world. I picked up a knife, earned my food manager’s license, and devoted a fair bit of time to practicing my skills. Though to some this may seem like a shift of cosmic proportions, from where I sit, these two worlds share many similarities. Without getting too technical, I believe most people can quickly draw connections between art, culture, and food. Obviously, I still take photos. I still design. This is creation. Amongst a handful of my idols lies an uncanny ability to close these gaps and tell stories that are worth listening to. 

My intent in writing again is to focus on not only the food but something that matters far more: the people; their hustle. The literal blood, sweat, and tears behind each restaurant’s success. As cliche as that might sound, the human element is far too often overlooked as we share cocktails at our favorite happy hour, or taste the final dish as it’s placed on the table in front of us. If there is anything I can contribute toward supporting my community, I’ll do it. I’m no esteemed food critic, nor do I want the responsibility of someone’s restaurant hinging on a few words published on my site. I’m just documenting the things that I enjoy.

That being said, I have no metric goals within my personal blogging, and I believe that’s how it should be. No timetables. No agenda. I can’t predict the future… But as of now, more stories are underway.

Stay with me. 

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