Even though I am a big fan of Christmas parties, I still dread them.  People get a little weird around the holidays and it seems that you never know what to expect.  This can be a larger problem when at a work party, but it seems that even family gatherings can have their issues.

I ran into this problem tonight at the party hosted by my parents.  I only come home every second year, so it seems that my parent’s friends grill me even more as they have two years of gossip and news to catch up on.

The only new thing that happened over the last two years is that I started to attend one of the cooking schools  in Jacksonville, where I live.  I had always thought cooking was something that I was good at, and after being in school for the past four months, my marks prove I was right.

But it seems that the guests at the party all questioned my wisdom when it came to choosing to get a culinary education over following in the family tradition of becoming lawyers.

I was really quite taken aback by their assumption that tradition was more important than my freedom to choose what I wanted to learn.  In fact, I left the party early as I was tired of the inquisition – somehow they just couldn’t see that choosing my own career was my decision and not anyone else’s.

Technorati Tags: cooking schools, culinary education

I think that one of the hardest questions that I have faced in my life is what I want to be when I grow up.  Just as it is hard to define me by one thing, to think of being just one thing through the rest of my life is a scary thing.

I look back at my childhood and my dreams of becoming an astronaut or fireman, and I realize that those were simpler times.  It was so much easier back then to decide what you wanted to be since there were no restrictions on the realities that you would face.

Take being a fireman for example.  To this day, that is still something that I would pursue, but at the same time I worry about my safety, and the chance that something might happen to me.  As a child you don’t think about such things, and the important part is the cool fireman uniform and the red truck – the danger associated with the work doesn’t even come to mind.

It still scares me though that I have no idea of what I want to be.  I should know that by now (being in second year and all), but I don’t.  I just don’t want to make the wrong choice and be unhappy forever.

Technorati Tags: career, fireman, grow up

There seems to be many ways that you can say congratulations to a recent graduate.  Some of the many common gifts include such things as a car (yes, some graduates still get cars), a ring, money, and even something as simple as a diploma frame.

Some of these gifts will have a lasting impression (such as the graduation picture frame), while others will leave a temporary impression.  Though not all of these gifts may be appreciated as much as the others, they all let your graduate know that you are recognizing them for a job well done.

But how do you pick the perfect graduation gift?

It will depend on how well you know the graduate.  If you are in their immediate family (such as a parent, sibling or grandparent), you will be expected to give a larger gift than some aunt that visits only once per year.  Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to rush out and buy a car, or spend a lot of money.  Rather, this can me you make a little more effort to make the gift more personal.

But, if you are one of those relatives that rarely visit, or maybe a friend, you can buy a gift that doesn’t have the same monetary value as what would be expected from a close relative.  In many cases too, a little trinket can suffice.

Irrespective of the amount of money you spend on a graduation gift, make sure that it shows that you think they did a good job in pursuing their education and actually finishing their degree.  Remember: it is the thought that counts.

Technorati Tags: diploma frame, graduation picture frame

I would like to think that I take my future seriously, so when it came time to pick out on school from the many cooking schools available to me, it was tough.  The caliber of the instructors to me was really important, and those on my list were very good.  In fact, that made the selection even harder.

But in the end, we can only ever go to one school and be in one place at a time, so I had no choice but to pick something.  Though some people would say that every culinary arts degrees are the same, I would have to disagree.  There are some schools out there that have better hiring rates and employer satisfaction, so I would have to add that criteria to my list too.

I have arranged to have a number of tours of a few schools in the area to see what they offer, how their facilities stack up, and it will also give me an opportunity to get a feel of what I should expect.  If they aren’t willing to let me have a tour, I think I will have to scratch them off the list.

So, I have my work cut out for me, but in the end it is my future and my education.  Is it too much to ask to have the best?

Technorati Tags: cooking schools, culinary arts degrees