Although I was born in 1998 in Havre de Grace, Maryland; I was raised in Edgewood, Maryland. That’s where I lived until I turned 10. My parents divorced when I was 7, and my mother was forced to pick up the slack to care for my 3 siblings and me. My dad was hardly around, and my mother was struggling to hold a steady job with the 4 of us to watch. This changed when she met a guy who seemed fine. However, things are not always how they appear. Little did I know how the course of my family’s lives would change because of it. My mother’s boyfriend was abusive to all of us and got us kicked out of our grandparent’s house as he was selling substances.
We spent a few weeks at a shady motel before my mother could no longer afford it and was forced to move into a house with a friend of her boyfriend. Said house, however, reinforced that first impressions are not always how they seem. What looked like a new chance at a home was instead a hub for substance dealers. The stress of having her children in this unsafe environment took a toll on my mother, ending up with her being hospitalized for a seizure. The morning after, I was picked up by my grandmother, to be taken into foster care. I am incredibly thankful that they kept my siblings and I together.
After a few months, my mother had recovered, and we were reunited with her. She started working with my grandfather delivering newspapers. We bounced from house to house, finally settling into Northern Harford County, a much more rural area compared to where we were brought up. My mom stuck with her job, working through the night and sleeping through the day. Someone had to step up to cook, so I started teaching myself. It developed a lifelong fascination with cooking, leading me to take cooking classes in high school and joining a restaurant starting my junior year of high school.
Now, I work so I can move out on my own. Once I achieve that goal, I will pursue a culinary degree, so I can further my knowledge of the restaurant industry. One day, I will finally turn the page to the chapter where I own a restaurant.
My mother is my hero, working her hardest to raise all 4 of us. It’s because of her I will never give up, no matter how hard the struggle is.
The hospitality industry combines my passion for cooking and for making people happy. When I applied for Buffalo Wild Wings, I again learned that everything is not as it seemed. I have been here for almost a year now, and I did not expect to enjoy working here as much as I do (it helps that I love sports and cooking, of course).
My bar is always set high, as I will make my mother proud. I will keep improving my knowledge and using it to help my team reach and surpass the bar.
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