So now onto the internship and thesis -- then my ultimate finish in March with my Master's!
I just wanted to share some (seemingly extensive!) exciting news with you. I've landed an amazing internship in which I will be working under the famous Manhattan-based editor Silvana Nardone (who launched Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine as the previous Editor-In-Chief). She also has an amazing blog, which I encourage you to check out called Silvana's Kitchen. Her newest undertaking is that she is the Editor-in-Chief of a new online, eco-friendly, gluten-free lifestyle magazine, Easy Eats. This is the magazine I will be the newest Intern with, mostly working with the Publisher and Marketing Director, Amie Valpone, who also has a great blog called The Healthy Apple. Not bad, right? It has begun and I have been working pretty hard so far. It will give me great experience in the marketing world, and I will see if I like it and where it takes me. I am already forming amazing contacts and (so far) seem to be impressing the Publisher. So that's good news!
I also just became a writer for Examiner.com! Please check out my Profile here. Subscribe to my articles, follow along, and become inspired! And please ask me questions, give me critique, offer your ideas. My main goal is to promote small, local start-up businesses. I have become quite passionate for the people behind the scenes in these areas of work. The daily toil and constant dedication I witnessed while studying in Italy was compelling. After witnessing and participating in the blood, sweat, and tears it takes to run a company who barely gets by, I was forever affected. I knew I had to somehow support the true, honest efforts in this field.
Because of my need for hands-on training, I am going to be teaming up with some of the start-ups in the Minneapolis area and beyond. I will be working most closely with Pashen, a delicious raw food product. The founder of this is Lisa Wilson, a passionate and uplifting woman, who also founded The Raw Food Institute. I will be working closely with her sister and brother, Wendy and Pol, who have taken the lead with the production and sales of the (did I mention delicious?) Pashen bars.
One of the places they are closely tied to and in collaboration with in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area is Kindred Kitchen, which sustains many small businesses in the area with their kitchen and working space. Their vision is to provide a high-quality, yet affordable environment for food entrepreneurs who wish to start up and continue to succeed as a business. Please check them out. They provide a truly amazing concept, one I am so honored to be a part of.
I will also be working with Beyond the Grain, company who started a gluten-free baking mix, which is also based in the Twin Cities area. The story behind this product is very lovely, one I will be sharing with you on the Examiner.
I will be learning from and spending some time with Crapola, a really fun and amazingly delicious granola company that started in Ely, Minnesota. Check their website out -- you won't regret it. More on them later (on the Examiner) as well.
I've also been in contact with a new co-op in a cute small college town, St. Joseph, Minnesota. The co-op is called Minnesota Street Market and they get a TON of volunteers from the college students who attend The College of St. Benedict and St. John's University. I will be volunteering my time to this local food and art co-op; maybe teaching some classes, helping with their newsletter and promotion, and just whatever various projects they need help with!
So, do you think I will be busy enough until March? I think so. I won't be getting a TON of income, so I've been applying to Dietetics jobs that are out there and even considering taking a barista position in the cities somewhere, as I miss my time at the Porpoura Coffee House.
For anyone who knows me, this isn't a surprise at how crazy and random all that I am doing seems. It sounds like a lot, but I am valuing the fact that it's my time to learn. (Honestly, I will be forever learning, though, right?) I will re-evaluate where I truly fit in March, when my internship portion of my Master's is officially over.
I just seem to be in constant yearning to learn more, seeking new ways to become inspired. This is part of the reason for my continued change, I believe. I am living and loving the best I can and I am confident I am doing what I am intended to do. I believe we all follow the path we are intended. It is right to say that we are all exactly where we should be, even if it's not what we want or how we would imagine. To be content with the current state of being, I've found, is a small secret to happiness.
Time will tell where I go and what exactly I will do. I know that one thing always leads to another and I will continue to discover myself more and more every day, learning from living, establishing what makes me most happy. At this point it is being near my family and friends while doing what inspires me, thus making me a better person. That's it, that's all -- for now, anyway!
Thank you all for your constant love and support.
I feel unbelievably blessed in the presence of unconditional love.
