Micro Blog: Dylan Holmes

     It was not long ago that I was working my way through a string of jobs that I absolutely detested, but had to continue because I had buried myself in bills unreasonable to pay off with my income. I'm a few months in to my twentieth year of life, I had attended community college for a couple of semesters after high school, but most of my “adult” life has been spent in “the real world.” I was living in an apartment with my girlfriend and another room mate, working full time for only a little over minimum hourly wage. I had rent, utilities, phone service, gas, cable, internet, and blah, blah, blah to pay for. I didn't see attending college again as a feasible option in my situation. Between attending class, working full time, and sleeping, my days would've already been devoured, not to mention any other errands that I may have been responsible for.

     My unfortunate situation carried on for a few months, and things would progressively become worse. I was stressed beyond my control, my relationship was suffering because of it, and we had a rocky living arrangement with our room mate at best. A few months ago my girlfriend and I moved back to our parent's homes, and that took some heat off of both of our lives. I'm happy to say that our relationship continues strong! That took care of a slew of problems, but I still worked far too often at a job that I disliked, and I had virtually no higher education.

     My sister, Kaili Holmes is enrolled to start the October term in PA at The Chef's Academy. I've received extensive information about this school over the past year since she enlisted. She graduated high school a whole year early. I'm incredibly proud of her. She'll be starting the program at only 17! Despite that, I found myself constantly upset that I didn't take a similar path as she has. I was not highly motivated throughout primary school, and my college education before TCA was a joke. I was headed nowhere.

     I found a job at a start up cafe in Wake Forest, and I had the realization that I could enjoy the culinary field. It's hands-on, creative, and I knew it would truly help me push my comfort boundaries. I've struggled with that my entire life. I was ecstatic when my family approved. I emailed Ashley for info about the program, and she replied faster than I could have imagined. In the mere weeks following, I had toured, attended orientation, and had all my financial obligations in check.

     Since class has started, I've been more optimistic about my future than any other time I can recall in my life. I'm looking forward to meeting as many of you as I can! I love the common passion we all have for this career and TCA makes me feel incredibly at peace with myself. More blogs to come, for sure, as I progress in my schooling, but I needed to simply express what The Chef's Academy has done for my life, and my outlook.

                       

            “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”

                                    -Henry Ford