Danger in the Kitchen

 It's an ability to learn new skills.

It's courage to accept that there are things that we lack.

Since young, whenever someone asks me if there's something I don't know, I have a very clear answer in mind-- cooking. When I was young, I almost never entered the kitchen. My mom would chase me out, saying that I'm not needed there.

When I started working, most of my jobs were as waitresses in restaurants. Whenever I walked into the kitchen, the same thing would happen. The chefs would politely tell me that it's okay, they don't need help and I can busy myself with my job outside. That's another way of saying, please do not come near the kitchen!

There was once when I was in high school, everyone was chatting and the topic about cooking came up. Everyone had something to say about it. They were each bragging (or what I thought of as bragging because I have nothing to say about it) about the meals they could make. "I can make fried rice." "I help cook rice." "The only thing I can cook is noodles." "I make a good omelette."

I stood at the side, watching as I thought hard, trying to come up with something I could make. I came up empty. There was nothing. The only thing I did was eat. I eat a lot. I eat more than most people. Everyone loves bringing me to buffets because they felt satisfied to watch me eat. Someone once told me, "seeing the amount you consume, I feel that the money I paid was worth it."

Fast forward to recent time. I just moved into a shared house, living with a lot of people in a big house. Just a few days ago, I tried to microwave frozen food I brought from the convenience store. My roommate was amused by my knowledge of things in the kitchen and shared some wonderful tips with me.

It reminded me of a lot of hilarious kitchen experiences I had in the past. I've accepted that I'm not good at it but I'm willing to learn instead of crying about it. I believe that's what makes a successful person.