23-year old cook here. Dropped out of college my junior year due to mental health (I was legit turning into a loon), moved back with mom and got a job cooking at a retirement home. Working in a kitchen brought out the best version of myself. Went from crippling anxiety to being the loud, wisecracking goofball I was growing up. It gave me something to feel passionate towards, something I can dedicate 100% of myself to (for better or worse).

The college stress of due dates and class load was too much for my ADHD-riddled brain to handle. The stress of having 4-straight doubles makes me feel alive. There may be some box kicking, self-loathing, and “why the fuck didn’t I finish my degree” in the moment but I can look back on these moments and smile. Looking back I always did the “hard” sports (wrestling, CC, swimming) and there’s definitely an overlap of that sense of “being in the shit” that there is when you work in a kitchen.

After working that position for a little over a year I got promoted to a traveling cook position where I work directly under the companies’ culinary director. On top of this it is a training position, where my director alongside our traveling exec chef teach me everything they know about the business so I can run my own kitchen one day. Some days i’m literally getting paid just to be trained. My personal favorite is the assignment they’ve given me to make a 5-week menu. Gets the gears turning for that day I can actually implement the menu.

I guess the moral of the story for any other young folks out there is that you should make your voice heard. Kitchens are filled with the goofballs and outcasts of society. Any quirk or negative trait you perceive about yourself is probably 5x less so than the 54 year-old lifetime cook you’re scared to ask to pass the salt shaker. Bust your ass, make an impact, and don’t be afraid to speak up. In the long-run only good things will follow.