Finding Sweetness in Adversity: My Journey Through Baking Another day, another doctor's appointment. Therapist, gastrointestinal doctor, medication check, pain clinic, hospital lab, neurologist, or surgery center —my life from 7th grade on was a revolving door of antiseptic-smelling rooms. By the time I was 17, I had had four upper endoscopies, one MRI, one CT scan, three X-rays, and over fifteen blood draws. You could say I was something of a regular at the hospital's lab. I had always been a homebody, which only added another reason to hate these endless appointments, so I started trying every hobby I could do from home. Books, painting, jewelry making, gaming, puzzles, and crocheting were all hobbies I had tried my hand at. But when everything else in my life was uncertain and chaotic, I needed something that was still a creative outlet, but with more structure. Something where you could follow the steps and create the expected outcome; then I found baking. Follow the recipe and make the product. I had always had a sweet tooth, often stopping at the closest bakery on the way home from those appointments. Getting something sweet after hearing more bad news just made me happier. The first thing I mastered was homemade brownies. I loved making them, and everyone loved eating them. Everything about the process made me happy, and I realized I had found my passion. As I continued to explore the world of baking, there were definitely setbacks. Times when a recipe didn't turn out, or the fondant melted, or even when my doctor told me I wasn't able to digest sugar. But it still made me happy. So I kept going. I redid recipes, tweaking them to be perfect over multiple rounds of trial and error, and I found ways to balance other parts of my diet while still allowing me to enjoy baked goods. I started to figure out what recipes cost, eventually making a spreadsheet to do the math and a database of what goods cost. People began to ask me to bring things to events, so I figured out how to scale recipes and mass-produce them in my kitchen. In my junior year of high school, after taking seven culinary and restaurant management classes, I started a business. I created business cards and a working website, got a point-of-sale app, and was a vendor at a craft fair, making three hundred salted caramel-filled chocolates and twenty tarot card cake pops. I had done the costing and figured out how much I should charge based on a thirty percent cost-to-profit, and I made three hundred dollars in profit that day. It took thirty-four hours in the kitchen and sitting in a middle school for eight, but I was able to say that at seventeen years old, I had a successful business. It's a lot of work to keep up with school, extracurriculars, a job, and a business, but my life has taught me how to balance things, how to know when I need to take a break, and how to make my passions my future. The doctor's appointments haven't stopped, but the same doctor who told me I can't eat sugar now buys caramels every time I see her. My immediate goal is to earn an associate's degree in Baking and Pastry at the Culinary Institute of America, where I am committed. I hope to then pursue a bachelor's in Baking & Pastry Arts and Food Service Management from Johnson and Wales online, work in the industry—possibly on a cruise ship—and eventually open my own bakery.

Finding Sweetness in Adversity: My Journey Through Baking Another day, another doctor's appointment. Therapist, gastrointestinal doctor, medication check, pain clinic, hospital lab, neurologist, or surgery center —my life from 7th grade on was a revolving door of antiseptic-smelling rooms. By the time I was 17, I had had four upper endoscopies, one MRI, one CT scan, three X-rays, and over fifteen blood draws. You could say I was something of a regular at the hospital's lab. I had always been a homebody, which only added another reason to hate these endless appointments, so I started trying every hobby I could do from home. Books, painting, jewelry making, gaming, puzzles, and crocheting were all hobbies I had tried my hand at. But when everything else in my life was uncertain and chaotic, I needed something that was still a creative outlet, but with more structure. Something where you could follow the steps and create the expected outcome; then I found baking. Follow the recipe and make the product. I had always had a sweet tooth, often stopping at the closest bakery on the way home from those appointments. Getting something sweet after hearing more bad news just made me happier. The first thing I mastered was homemade brownies. I loved making them, and everyone loved eating them. Everything about the process made me happy, and I realized I had found my passion. As I continued to explore the world of baking, there were definitely setbacks. Times when a recipe didn't turn out, or the fondant melted, or even when my doctor told me I wasn't able to digest sugar. But it still made me happy. So I kept going. I redid recipes, tweaking them to be perfect over multiple rounds of trial and error, and I found ways to balance other parts of my diet while still allowing me to enjoy baked goods. I started to figure out what recipes cost, eventually making a spreadsheet to do the math and a database of what goods cost. People began to ask me to bring things to events, so I figured out how to scale recipes and mass-produce them in my kitchen. In my junior year of high school, after taking seven culinary and restaurant management classes, I started a business. I created business cards and a working website, got a point-of-sale app, and was a vendor at a craft fair, making three hundred salted caramel-filled chocolates and twenty tarot card cake pops. I had done the costing and figured out how much I should charge based on a thirty percent cost-to-profit, and I made three hundred dollars in profit that day. It took thirty-four hours in the kitchen and sitting in a middle school for eight, but I was able to say that at seventeen years old, I had a successful business. It's a lot of work to keep up with school, extracurriculars, a job, and a business, but my life has taught me how to balance things, how to know when I need to take a break, and how to make my passions my future. The doctor's appointments haven't stopped, but the same doctor who told me I can't eat sugar now buys caramels every time I see her.