bits & bobs

it's a marathon, not a sprint

I have to admit, I’ve been in a bit of a slump recently.

It’s not for lack of inspiration — I have a folder entitled “Upcoming” in my Google Drive that is steadily growing in size. I’m taking on my most ambitious visual storytelling project to date that I can’t wait to share more about soon. Everywhere I look, I see stories at the intersection of food, culture, community, and, increasingly, political and social issues too. I see stories yearning to be told and I itch to tell them.

The problem is that my motivation has not been able to keep pace. I’m afraid I’m suffering from a case of Blinking Cursor Syndrome. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand this creative slump in order to overcome it. My best guess is that it has to do with a combination of:

• Receiving an official ADHD diagnosis and learning to process and cope with this mental disorder

• Feeling bogged down by perfectionism

• Exploring new directions for my food storytelling (Could I be a journalist? A documentarian?) and struggling with the idea of being a beginner again in a completely new field

• Feeling bogged down by the idea that there’s one “right” path

• Suffering from scarcity mindset and feeling the urgency to find something that pays the bills, which often feels at odds with the time and space and openness I need to explore aforementioned new directions and fields

• Feeling ashamed of my inability to “just do it” and subsequently feeling paralyzed by this self-inflicted shame

Oh, and I just ran my first marathon on Sunday!

I was one of over 55,000 runners to finish the NYC Marathon last Sunday, with a little help from my personal cheer squad 🎉

And that was the easier race this week 😮‍💨 I feel exhausted — physically, mentally, emotionally. I’m trying to be patient and kind to myself as I work through all of these complex feelings, and try to ward off the despair I feel as a woman of color in this country. I’m trying to not let myself lose hope.

Now more than ever, I cling to my belief that we are still more alike than we are different, and that we can tap into our common humanity by sharing stories. To that end, I thought I’d share some sources of inspiration that I’ve consumed recently that made me feel hope. These pieces of food media opened my eyes and deepened my appreciation for the craft of food storytelling in all of its forms. I hope that they will speak to you while I am unable to.