I've struggled with how personal I want this blog to be. It comes in waves: you get a glimpse into my eating habits, my yoga practice, people who are close to me, and that's about it. Otherwise, I keep it simple and closed off, showing you things I find beautiful and inspiring.

I have been the same way in my personal relationships, allowing a select few inside. I think you should be cautious of who you open up to, but the reasoning behind it is something to consider. Was I closed off due to embarrassment, lack of energy to explain myself, self-consciousness?... A combination of them all. The more I grow, I become more and more comfortable with myself and what I share. The qualities I see as flaws are part of me, and I am learning to embrace them and use them to become stronger, more in tune with myself.

The past year has been a time of introspection, diving deep into what I want in this life and who I want to be surrounded by. As I questioned my path in terms of a career, I knew I wanted to write, travel, cook, and help others. I want to do something I am passionate about and have it be more of a lifestyle rather than a "career". So, how do I do that? I came up with a project, studying the human relationship with food, among different cultures. In about a year/year and a half, I will set off, traveling to different countries, diving into their culture, and examining how they look at food, how they acquire their food, what sitting down for a meal means to them, etc. In turn, I am hoping to promote local farming and nutrition in early education and at home, getting a grant to support and give back to the countries I visit. The complex relationship we have with food is beautiful, intricate, and often damaging. I want to study how others relate to it and form a healthy, caring, and symbiotic relationship with it, for not only myself, but all those who care about what they are putting into their bodies.

Shade Market will slowly become an avenue for my progression in this project. I think it's time to start giving a voice to this work.