Do you feel you are too old to pursue your dream?

When is too old considered too old? Is it 30 to a 5 year old? Is it 60 to a 20 year old? I feel you are as old as you feel. Even though I am only 41 years old, sometimes I feel like I am 20 when I am doing activities with my family. Other times I feel I am all of 41 plus some when I am with people who are much younger than me in the classroom.

Am I too old to follow my dreams? Well, almost three years ago, I found out the hard way that I was too old to follow my biggest dream of being a soldier in the United States Army. I got to basic training and my heart did not like the stress. So I got sent home. Last year, I started on my next biggest dream of becoming a chef. I started classes at OTC in the summer taking online courses. At that point, I told my wife I am too old for this. She encouraged me by saying you never stop learning and are never too old to go back to school. Then the fall semester began. Wow did I ever think I was too old to be at school! Most of the students in my classes were 15 to 20 years younger than me. I found out that I can learn from them as much as they can learn from me. I have learned a lot in the last year about how young I feel.

When it came time for me to decide whether or not I was too old to follow my dream of becoming a chef, I considered the following thoughts.

Is my dream unrealistic? No. If I do my best and try my hardest, I will realize my dream.

Am I going to follow my dream someday? Someday is today. If I waited for someday, I will still be in my factory job taking pain killers to get through each day. Someday is today!

Will I be able to get a job when I get done? I don’t know what I will get when I am finished. I do know that people will always need to eat. I will find something to pad my resume’ with and work up from there until I can have my own business.

In answer to the blog question, do I feel too old to pursue my dream, the answer is no. I feel old enough to be mature, but still young enough to have fun while learning.

Kickin cakes,

Mike

Freewriting

I am writing about how I believe that I make kickin cakes.  I follow steps to my recipes.  i also experiment. i make changes to the recipes.  i like doing different things.  my cousin said i am the next cake boss-no way! i make things interesting.  I like to do different patterns or create from memory. i like to make sure every one is pleased.  i am disappointed if others are.  my wife helps with creations too.  i do the baking and most of the icing.  my wife creates fondant and gumpaste pieces.  flowers and shapes.  she likes to work with that stuff because she says its like playing with playdough.  Just like being a kid! i don't like it because I can't control it as well i think.  i like watching the shows to see what new ideas i can come up with. i want to own my own bakery someday.  well on our way.  my wife says i have to graduate and work for someone for while before i can go on my own.  I like doing the bakery stuff on the side.  we do cupcakes too.  its fun to see what i can do with such a small area.  we do a lot of candy pieces and chocolate piece.  make names and words out of candy.  really stands out on a cake.  made a baby shower cake and everyone loved it.  got stood up on a wedding cake.  glad we did not have to do that because i doubt we would have gotten paid.  bride asked if she could pay for her cake with food stamps. i said no.  she wanted her cake topper to spin on a motor.  i said no. i am glad we did not do that cake.  my wife does most of the bookings for us i just do the creating mostly.  my son is the only boy in 4h doing cake decorating.  i am going to teach him how to make kickin cakes too.  he really likes it.  my other son likes to help my wife with the candy making.  i am going to teach my sons how to cook because that is a life skill they will always need.

Word count: 368

This I Believe

I believe in God
I believe I am a good husband
I believe I am a good dad
I believe I am a good son
I believe I am a good brother
I believe I am a good uncle
I believe I am a good friend
I believe I am a good cook
I believe people are good
I believe teachers do the best they can
I believe people should be truthful
I believe people should not take things that do not belong to them
I believe I have lead a good life
I believe I will make a great chef
I believe I make beatiful cakes
I believe I make kickin cakes
I believe my son will do great in the Air Force
I believe my son will do good in high school
I believe my son will be protected from his injuries in football
I believe I will make the most out of my education
I believe I will use what I learn in class in my future
I believe in following the rules
I believe in teaching a child how to hunt and fish
I believe in teaching my child to save for the future
I believe in using my cell phone to talk to people, not text
I believe spirits are real
I believe in my Native American heritage
I believe in a tight knit family
I believe in showing love to my family
I believe in learning from different cultures
I believe in making the best of the situation
I believe in finding the silver lining in every cloud
I believe in the power of having a good friend
I believe that a good friend will be with you no matter what
I believe in setting a good example for my kids
I believe in experimenting with my food
I believe in providing for my family

Typology and Writing

The Jung Typology Test was very interesting.  I am not sure how accurate my results are because some of the questions either made no sense to me or I could have answered yes and no on the same question. 
The indicators for writing said:

• Create and follow a writing plan
• Use a step-by-step process to assess data and complete their writing
• Emphasis the main point and support it with gathered data
• Understand when to stop researching and begin the writing stage
• Need to consider how their writing will impact their audience
• Benefit from remaining open to new ideas
• Meet the deadline but should be cautious not to rush through the writing stages

My responses are:

• I do not create and follow a writing plan.  I just start writing and develop on the fly. 
• I do not use a step by step process unless instructed to do so.  I write, research and edit at the same time.
• I do emphasize the main point and then try to support it with gathered data.  Sometimes I support it with what makes sense to me.
• I am stop researching or writing on the fly when I am finished writing. 
• I do care about what I write.  I usually don't care what is thought about it, because everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
• I do remain mostly open to new ideas.  I will listen to the new ideas, but will not promise to adopt them.
• I do meet my deadlines, but don't always start early in my project.

All in all, the writing section did not match my perceptions of myself on most levels; however the student/learning section did match me on most levels.

The student/learning indicators said:

• Prefer learning through a step-by-step and hands-on process
• Apply information in order establish its relevance
• Dislike learning theory
• Desire to hear clear presentations and explicit expectations
• Want instructors to evoke interest in a topic and support their information with facts
• Create and follow a specific study plan
• Study well with others

The only indicator I do not agree with is the creating and following a specific study plan.  I usually just study when I have time to study, such as between classes or in the evenings after school or work.
I am not really sure that it will help me with my writing in college, because I am not sure how much of my writing style I can base on this test.

Mike