Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Back to School



Original image by the talented Meagan. We like to style
things and she likes to take pictures.
While I have no need to prove to my dad I’m not a fool, and I really really don’t intend on getting in any fights, I am most definitely heading back to school!

My “back to school” journey really began a couple years ago…

During my stint with Not For Sale I had really become sold on the idea of Open Source Activism—the idea of using your own skill set and talents to create positive world change. Everyone is good at something, and normally everyone is good at quite a few things. The goal is to take those things you are good at, and use them for good. Using your talents for good could be anything from playing music with a positive message, making crafts you sell for fundraising purposes, sewing clothes or knitting warm scarves and mitts to give to shelters, cooking meals for families with new babies, the list really does go on and on…

While with NFS I had a few ideas on how I wanted to pursue and implement in my life the ideals of open source activism. One idea was to become a career counselor— when survivors of human trafficking would be going through their rehabilitation programs, I would be there to provide career assistance. This would be everything from assessing their current skill sets and passions to working on interview skills, interview outfit shopping and bringing confidence to the forefront. It was an awesome idea and combined my love for helping others succeed and flourish with my passion of ending human trafficking. While it was a great idea, and while I’m sure I would have enjoyed it immensely, there was another passion I knew I needed to feed.

My "I'm going to school" announcement on Instagram.
Follow me: @LoveInspiresChange
I had (and still have) this growing love for baking. It’s amazing the joy that comes from creating something delicious, attractive and shareable. Baking had been a past time and hobby for me for quite a while—especially once moving to Winkler, Manitoba. After being creative on my own time with baking basics and ambitious decorating adventures, I thought it was time to perhaps take this passion to a new level and pursue it as a career. You see, open source activism can really accommodate any skill or passion you have. For myself, baking is going to be how I positively influence and change the world.

Upon the decision of my wonderful husband and I to move to Ontario was also the decision that I was going to actively pursue baking as a career. I was leaving broadcasting behind trading the microphone for the spatula. My goal was to work in the field for one year. If during that year I liked it as much as I thought I would, I would plan to attend school at the year mark to really learn about what I was doing!

We are now entering August of 2014 with my first job in a bakery having started in September of 2013. Needless to say, I still love it. Ontario does this awesome Apprenticeship program. You spend four months of the year receiving in school training and the rest of the year working in a bakery that sponsors you and ensures you are putting your newly gained skills from school to use in a professional setting. It’s a great way to get the best of both worlds—school and work.

My "For the Love of Cake" board on Pinterest. Just the first few pins...
slightly cake obsessed. Follow me: Pinterest.com/aeleas
September 2nd is my first day of school and I don’t know if I could be more excited. It’s been seven years since I graduated from college and I am looking forward to the challenges I will face, the knowledge I will gain, the frustrations I am sure I will face and overcoming those frustrations to be able to do things I could only image doing after pinning flawless images on Pinterest for the past few years. The Baker-Patissier Apprenticeship program at George Brown College in Toronto is about to receive a student who is not only excited to learn, but who is eager to apply and partner those learned skills with her dreams to be a force of positive change. Piping bag in hand, I can change the world.

How can you take your passions and use them to create positive world change?



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