What could go wrong? A perfect question for me. It is quite interesting when hear many stories of places and how it changes from each person depending on what job they did or the location they were at. I applied for the Disney Culinary Program in 2023 for an internship as a school credit. A lot of students had pros and cons of this program. But I really wanted to do the program and I was like " Hey maybe it's different for everyone what can go wrong". When I did the interview I found it quit weird how it's all about baking and not my professionalism or what I learned. Even though I got accepted all I felt was stress and anxiety. However, I also applied for another internship, and I saw the difference between the two and how I felt more comfortable talking to the other food business company instead. I got accepted to both but decided Disney. It was a bad decision in my opinion which is sad. I love this place but not to work in and it was not a learning experience. I felt nervous to go in each day and knowing Im by myself with this and how lonely I felt with this company. But when you know you know the truth and reality of life and a company that is popular and how they run a food establishment. You could think of endless possibilities on how to do better than them in your own food establishment. My passion is to open my own cafe one day and make delicious pastries and food that people can get and enjoy. Yes the food industry is hard to do because you have to deal with staying in the temperature danger zone and not exceed it or go under it. But to see smiles and the reactions of people who enjoy the things that you make is an amazing feeling. The passion I have is so time-consuming but worth it in the end. I have learned so much thanks to the professors at my college and created amazing things. It is a life that creates art through food and aroma. Aroma that draw customers in but also the sight of your product so they could come and get it. I think the main thing that help me push my way up to succeed my passion and wanting people to enjoy my creations is my Abuelo. When my Abuelo was place in the hospital and as on watch 24/7 it was hard and heartbreaking. Everytime I would see him I would bring a bake good for him to try knowing he didn't eat anything. One day I bake him a chocolate fudge brownie. This was pushed me. Push me toward the passion and dream I want to pursue. He didn't eat at all and only had the brownie I gave him. I could tell on his face that he enjoyed it and savored each bite. It made me want to pursue a career in baking and help people enjoy the creations I will make. But also learn how to make safe and slightly healthy alternatives to these pastries as well. So. I want to open my own cafe one day in Italy and take it from there and do amazing things.

What I love about art is that it can come in many shapes and forms. Such as graphics in video games, animation, food, music, and more. Even though I don't create art that's on paper or graphic designs. I create art that people can enjoy and remember the flavor of the product and the time they got it. Baking is an art because you have to contrast the colors, flavors, and designs of the product. It is also art because the creativity that is put into it takes time and attention to detail. However, this type of art can't be fixed like paintings and drawings. Once you make a mistake there is a chance that mistake can't be fixed. This is why as a baker you need to be more attentive to detail as you work. As a Baking and Pastry Arts student I was taught the many techniques and designs as well as details of how a product should be.The photo I attached is a cake design I did for my final project in my class called "Basic and Classical Cakes". In this project we had to make a two-tier cake design of our own but, it had to be the techniques and formulas we learned in class. I made a Victorian-style maximalist cake design. Maximalist cakes are cakes that use the designs of the baker and how it creates a story through their art form. This cake incorporates piping designs such as rosettes and Shells/Reverse shells. The flavor is vanilla chiffon with raspberry jam and Swiss meringue vanilla buttercream( green and white colors). Baking products all have a story within them. Even the design to detail. Flavors and colors are important because they will draw attention to the consumer. How it will draw the attention of someone who will visit the Vatican to see Michelangelo's art that is on the ceiling of the church. So, this will lead back to color theory which is how colors contrast with each other and create meaning. In the Victorian era, they used a lot of white in their cakes to represent purity. My cake design is both green and white. I chose green not because it was my favorite secondary color but because it also holds meaning behind it as well even in the Victorian era. Green represents new beginnings and growth. That being said I choose green because I will experience new things in this field of art. While white it represents purity, virtue, and perfection. This corresponds to the Victorian era in how they strived to be perfect and how they followed the moral code. In this way, it matches my art because I had to follow the moral code of my chef in any art form or project I do with them in class. This class inspired me to think more creativity and think out of the box. I could have gotten Ideas from other students who took this class. However, I wanted to go for the classical approach to it and to do my own colors and designs for this project.

I have a sizable number of books in mind, that I like to read. If I had to choose, I would have to say Harry Potter the entire series by J. K. Rowling. These books are not only magical, but they are also very relatable. The stories are beautifully written, and each book has a different life lesson. For example, these books teach you about friendship and acceptance. The main characters Harry, Ron, and Hermione all come from different backgrounds and have different life experiences. Harry was orphaned, and raised by his aunt and uncle. Ron though his family structure is intact, they are a middle-class family making it through the day. Lastly, Hermione comes from a magical and non-magical family. They all meet for the first time and become best friends. Through good and bad, thick, and thin, Harry, Ron, and Hermione always remain the absolute best of friends. For that is one of my favorite things about Harry Potter. It teaches readers that, no matter how terrible things get, how different we are, Friendship and love for one another come first. The characters are more than friends, they are also role models. Harry shows courage, Ron shows Loyalty, and Hermione shows Intelligence. All are qualities a person should strive to display. The characters in Harry Potter all have great qualities about them which make them unique and distinguished role models for all. If I had to recommend a book series, I most definitely would have to recommend everyone young and old read the Harry Potter books. They are excellent.

Personal finance is something I am learning with the help of my mom. Unfortunately, I did not receive this education in high school as is not a required subject. Thankfully my mom has a decent grasp at it and regularly talks to me on the importance of being financially savvy. My mom has given me several tips to become financially free and successful with my money. First, she tells me to have self-control, don't impulse buy. Even though, I can effortlessly purchase an item, I should take at least 24 hours to think about it. I should ask myself "Do I really need this and is this worth the sticker price." Her motto when shopping is, "I need to make my dollar stretch." The second piece of advice she has given me, "Know where your money is going." Keep track of your spending and see if the choices I am making are financially acceptable. Keeping track will help me assess if I am I living within my means. Is my money going towards wants or is it going towards a need. Lastly, "Control your financial future." She tells me "If you don’t learn to manage your own money, other people will find ways to mismanage it for you." "Invest in yourself. Invest in your future," she says. With this piece of advice, she is implying educate myself. I need to educate myself regarding money management, business management and investing. Success will come if I educate myself accordingly. I plan to do just that. I plan to continue to study and learn from the best. If given the opportunity, I know that I will be successful and financially stable. I am currently enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, New York campus. My goal is to learn everything I need to know about cooking and running my own café. This is my first year and so far it has been a learning experience. I have had to put into practice my mom's advice. Which I must say, It has not been easy. It is so easy to get carried away when shopping online or even when selecting my meal options for the day. I need to make sure my money is being spent wisely and its stretching to the maximum. I have been given the opportunity to come to a great school on a limited income. I must make the best of it and learn as much as I can. Upon graduation, I will continue to study and educate myself. I will surround myself with people who will promote my growth as a person, mentally, spiritually, and financially. I will surround myself with people that can teach me and guide me towards a successful future. In doing so, I will obtain my dream and goal of opening and running my own café. Thank you for your time and support.

I believe it's very important to establish healthy eating habits for over all good health. There are many resources out there that can help and guide you to make healthy choices or any needed changes to your diet. Some good nutritional resources are found online include Nutrition.gov., Food Nutrition Information Center, Human Nutrition Research (Agricultural Research Service), USDA National Nutrient Database and list can go on. Be mindful of what resource you use to help guide your choices. Heathy eating is important. That being said, it is different for everyone and should be very individualized. We can not use the food pyramid nor nutritional guidelines as something that is set in stone and should be followed to the letter. Keep in mind that the recourses out there are just guidelines. Use the information lightly. What's good for some its not always good for all. Not everyone has the same body composition. We all react to foods differently and should be very aware of how our body reacts. I strongly believe the first step to building a healthy diet starts with knowing your body and how your body reacts to each food source. Keep in mind that everyone is different. As for me, I can very well tell you, if I eat a lot of baked goods, pasta or even bread my belly bloats significantly making me feel very uncomfortable. When I eat a high source of proteins such as meats and nuts the gassiness and bloating goes away. When I eat certain fruits or even fruit juice my acid indigestion is unbearable, especially in the early morning. I have to eat certain fruits later in the day. Even though I try to make good food choices and follow the food pyramid as suggested by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), it does not always agree with my body. I feel at my best when I have good fats and protein sources and very little fruits and carbs. I feel like my body is more alert and has less noticeable inflammatory issues. Eating a healthy diet can be a challenge for most people, due to all the conflicting information found on line, in magazines and on TV. It can be truly overwhelming. I try to keep in mind that healthy eating does not have to be overly complicated. It should about feeling great, having more energy, improving your health, and boosting your mood. If you can establish good eating habits that agree with your body composition, you are then on track to achieving a heathier self.

“Generational wealth” refers to any assets passed down by one generation of a family to another. These assets can be anything from stocks, bonds, real estate, family businesses and or any other investments such as comic books. I come from a hard working middle class family. Financial literacy in the terms of growing wealth is very much lacking. We do not have much but we have each other. My family works hard to live and has not put much thought into gaining generational wealth. My grandmother is 73 years old and is still working. She is a dialysis nurse. She gets up every morning at the crack of dawn to go to work. She works very long and exhausting hours. I wish she did not have to work so hard. I wish she could relax, retire and enjoy life. I feel she has worked long enough and should be able to live the life she would like to live without having to work. My mom on the other hand, also hard working, has educated herself in the last couple of years regarding financial freedom. Every chance she gets she guides me towards it the best she can. She talks to me on a regular basis on the importance of saving my money and investing it accordingly. As far as I can remember, my mom has always been very frugal and consciences of where to invest her money. She never pays full price for anything. If its not on clearance she does not buy it. Her motto is "We need to make our dollar stretch." Even though she has always been consciences of the value of having wealth and money, she started late in life investing it. This is why, she has made it her mission to speak to me regularly on how to achieve financial freedom. She does not want me to have the same future that my grandmother and she has. She does not want me to be in my 70 and still have to be working to make ends meet. She wants my future and the future of my family to be secure and enjoyable. That being said, I am currently a student at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. My ultimate goal is to gain the skill sets needed to open up my own café/restaurant. I not only want this for myself, but for my future family. Having a successful café/restaurant is something that I can turn into a productive asset and provide generational wealth to my children and grandchildren. I am excited and nervous, but I know in my heart I can make it happen.

What excites me the most about being an entrepreneur, is the ability to be my own boss. My goal is to obtain the knowledge and skill set to open my own café/restaurant. I, like many people love food. Food brings people together. There is nothing better than to see a family or a group of friends catching up around a table, drinking and eating delicious food. I want my restaurant to resemble the European life style. Meals are to be enjoyed and savored not rushed, as well as family and friends. This also holds true for life. We should be enjoying life, soaking up all its wonders and learning from all its challenges. There is a movie that I love to watch, which reminds me of what I want in life and what I want my customers to experience in my restaurant. The movie is "Eat, Pray, Love". There is a Clip held in a barber shop (Dolce Far Niente) which touches on the differences between Americans and Italians . How Americans do not enjoy life and how life should be enjoyed. Living here in the states, I can say this holds true. We do not enjoy life nor do we live it to its fullest. I want my restaurant to bring people together and enjoy life, enjoy each others company and most of all enjoy a great meal.

The song that has the most important message is Tim McGraw's "Humble and Kind". I strongly believe humanity has forgotten about humility and kindness. We are currently living in the everything about me era, First me, Second me and Lastly me. What is best for me. Society in general has forgotten about others and what is best for humanity as a whole. "Humble and Kind", Tim McGraw You know there's a light that glows by the front door Don't forget the keys under the mat When childhood stars shine Always stay humble and kind Go to church 'cause your momma says to Visit grandpa every chance that you can It won't be wasted time Always stay humble and kind (Chorus) Hold the door, say please, say thank you Don't steal, don't cheat, and don't lie I know you got mountains to climb but Always stay humble and kind When the dreams you're dreamin' come to you When the work you put in is realized Let yourself feel the pride but Always stay humble and kind Don't expect a free ride from no one Don't hold a grudge or a chip and here's why Bitterness keeps you from flyin' Always stay humble and kind Know the difference between sleepin' with someone And sleepin' with someone you love "I love you" ain't no pickup line, so Always stay humble and kind (Repeat Chorus) When it's hot, eat a root beer popsicle Shut off the AC and roll the windows down Let that summer sun shine Always stay humble and kind Don't take for granted the love this life gives you When you get where you're goin', don't forget turn back around And help the next one in line Always stay humble and kind I truly love the message in this song.

Dyed grey eyes with no value, An X mark to hide people faces began to show, A wonder when it will peel off and fade , The chatter begins to feel like a bunch of clatter now. My thoughts feel like a jungle that I can't escape from, A wet and dark area with small whispers to be heard, Figures who look at the sky without a thought to of, Life begins to crumble as clouds form above me like foam. My head is a jungle that can't be shown unless broken, The word slip through people lips like waterfalls on the beautiful mountains, Mountains that breaks with each word spilled which makes my heart harden, I need someone to give me structure but its your actions that are clouded, clouded by your own words. Words are so powerful like a hand written letter, Letters are from the heart and when damage it breaks the soul, Letters may drive you away, but I promised you that I will look out for you. It was late at night, till the world that caved in, Word slip through my lips, that drove you away across the rapid river. Turn off your porcelain face , there is no dollhouse to be found. Forgiveness is there you just need to fall back in to play. I am just behind the flowers to hide from the truth in the end. why can't you love the one behind the flowers?

The person who has influenced my decision in the culinary arts is my grandmother. She is the best cook I know. Everything she makes is so delicious. My mouth waters just thinking about her cooking. I have a small family. After the passing of my cousin, we started getting together every Sunday for "Family Sunday Dinner". Every Sunday we go to grandma's house (aka..Lela) to have dinner. Having these diners together is very special to me and my family. Every time we get together it amazes me how delicious the food is and how it provides us with the opportunity to catch up and enjoy each other. My ultimate goal is to open up my own café/ restaurant. Where people can come together not only to eat and enjoy great food, but to cherish the time with one another. I want people to enjoy life and family at least for a little while. As my family and I do during our "Family Sunday Dinner".

Mental health is a challenge for many. If left on checked, it can cause significant harm to self, to the family structure and or even others. I believe that everyone in society has some type of mental health disorder or at the very least some sort of internal conflict with it. My uncle has struggled with anxiety and depression for many years. He is currently on medication, which has helped him cope with his struggles. This took a long time. It was not until he was able to understand his anxiety and triggers was he able to sustain and maintain a job. I too have my own struggles. I sometime struggle with body image dysmorphia. Loving the way I look is not always easy. It prevents me from wearing short and sometimes even going out. I much rather stay in my jogging pants and stay in my room. Self talk can make you or break you. The word you say to yourself on a daily basis is what shapes us as human beings. If I talk to myself unkindly, soon enough I believe those word and what I see in the mirror is what I believe is true. I have made it a point to speak kindly to myself and love the women I am becoming. I keep myself surrounded with loving, kind people. People who have a positive outlook in life. Doing so, helps keep my mind engaged in positivity and kindness to myself. Mental health is no joke. Each year millions of people face the reality of living with mental illness. Some people are very aware of their struggle and are able to cope or find the means to seek some kind of help. Others, unfortunately are not aware. These are the people who are at the highest risk for harming themselves or others. Social media and society have great influence. These platforms are filled with so much negativity and damaging information. People who are not self-aware of their mental health struggles can easily fall victim to it. If you hear something, see something long enough, it then become reality and true. We not only need to be self aware, but we also need to be aware of others who are struggling. We don't have to struggle in silence. We can live well with mental health conditions, as long as we open up about it.

I love dogs and have always had a dog in my life. They are truly mans best friend. I strongly believe dogs bring out the best in everyone. My dogs have always been there when I needed them the most. When I am sick, I can count on them to sit by my side and keep me company. When I am sad, they make me laugh and when I am feeling lazy they make me work. For that, dogs will always be in my life.

This is my first year in Collage. That being said, everything about it is exciting and nerve wrecking. Did not expect it to feel this way. What excites me the most is learning a new skill and learning how to be on my own. Managing my day to day life without the direct oversite of my parents. It's somewhat over whelming, I must say. Never realized how much mom does for me in the background of my my life. This has allowed me to appreciate her more. To maintain a healthy life style, I do my best to be mindful of what I eat on a daily basis. I also started exercising, something I never did when I was back home, even though mom and my sister love it and did it daily. Exercising has allowed me to feel better about myself, as well as to keep my mind focused on positivity, not the past nor any negative event that may have risen through out the day. Growing and learning to be and bring out my best self.

My perspective about the food industry change upon my first year in the culinary classroom. Why you may ask? Well, my eye were opened to the reality of the inner workings of the food industry. There is so much that goes into running a kitchen and a restaurant. If only I could be a fly on the way or hear the stories told by food, if food could talk. I was amazed how some restaurant took shortcut and improperly stored, cook, and handled the food we consume. I could not believe the number of bacteria and viruses that we could be exposed to from improperly prepared food and the harm it can cause to immunocompromised people. I also learned about allergens and the effect of them. For example, did you know that when you order french fries at a restaurant, they may be using the same oil for frying something other than fries. It sounds silly and obvious but it is true. The restaurant may also be using peanut oil to cook their french fries but, a person could have a peanut allergy. I learned, it is always best practice to ask the customer if they have any allergies. This will give the restaurant the opportunity to better serve the customer and prevent a serious health related event. These are only a couple of thing in which I was unaware could happen, since I do like to go out to restaurant and have never been asked for allergen nor have gotten sick. Being a foodie, taking this class was eye opening. It changed my perspective of life and the food / restaurant industry. It changed my perspective so much, that it has inspired me to be a great chef and Restaurant Cafe owner.