Have you ever thought about your first job?

This morning, while quietly navigating my thoughts for the day, my mind slipped ten years back.

It surprised me how gently it happened. No warning. Just a memory knocking.

2026 feels like the most precious year to look forward to. I am in a different country now. I love my job. I love the life I am building alone, intentionally, quietly. Yet today, my heart wandered to who I was a decade ago.

Ten years ago, I was in the academe.

I was a culinary instructor, teaching diverse kinds of people how to bake cakes, cook dishes from appetizers to desserts, process meats, and understand food,all inside classrooms, community centers, wherever duty called me to serve as an educator.

And truthfully, it amazes me still.

I taught skills I had never practiced in a real kitchen.

I had never worked in the hospitality industry back then. I had never felt the pressure of a service rush, never burned my hands during a double shift, never stood for hours plating dishes under a chef’s sharp eyes. Everything I knew came from culinary books, lectures, and four years of studying culinary arts. My bachelor’s degree made me knowledgeable about almost everything.

Almost.

What I was missing was experience.

And deep inside, I knew it.

I realized I couldn’t fully teach my students what it truly meant to work in a kitchen because I had never lived it myself. I hadn’t seen what it was really like behind the swinging doors, under the heat, inside the chaos.

That realization changed everything.

That was the moment I shifted from educator to beginner again.

I left teaching and became a line cook.

At first, I doubted myself. I thought maybe it was just another silly plan forming in my head. I questioned whether I was throwing away stability for uncertainty. But doubt didn’t stop me I pursued it anyway.

I started from scratch.

No connections. No safety net. No one to vouch for me.

I applied for beginner positions,line cook, pastry commis. Sometimes, I even worked as a barista for a short period. Each role taught me something different. Each shift humbled me.

And slowly, I realized something powerful:

I was gaining more experience than I ever imagined.

Five years passed.

And one day, I stood in a position I once dreamed of I was leading a team.

Leadership didn’t come easily. I’m still figuring it out. I struggle with it, especially with people. I’m not naturally a people person. I know how to establish rapport, but maintaining relationships at work is still challenging for me. Some days, it feels heavier than the work itself.

But I stay.

I learn.

I grow.

Now, I am in a foreign country, honing my skills as a pastry chef. I am developing my own recipes while learning from the people around me. I observe closely. I keep details in my mind. I let myself be a student again.

Funny how a simple morning can pull you into memory lane.

Funny how life carries you from the hardest seasons of self-doubt and uncertainty to a story you’ll one day share with strangers who slowly become part of your journey.

Life doesn’t move in straight lines.

It moves in leaps of faith, quiet courage, and decisions that only make sense years later.

And today, I’m grateful I listened to the version of myself who knew she had more to learn who wasn’t afraid to start over, and who trusted that becoming a beginner again would someday lead her here.

Still learning.

Still becoming.

Still grateful.