In less than two weeks, I will take a trip across the country and continent, ultimately culminating at a small city located in Quebec, Canada. This will be the first trip I have taken in which there is no guarantee of my return back to my hometown of Austin at the end. If I spend time thinking about just what that means to me, and all the memories and past friends that I’m leaving behind, I will piss my pants. Instead, I’m thinking of the future, and what opportunities this trip will give me and the things that I will learn, and my mind is confident that this is the path that God wants me to take.

For the time being, I cannot reveal the exact nature of where exactly I’m going and what I’m going to be doing. I can say that I will be working in a restaurant and taking on a lot more responsibility than I have ever had in the past. I also know I will learn so much doing what I’m doing, and those lessons will serve me well if one day I am to fulfill my dream of being the chef-owner of my own restaurant.

Austin, you will be missed. I’ll cherish the last few days I get to spend with you, in the company of great friends from MasterChef. But this is the next step in my culinary journey, and it’s time for this chapter of my life to close and the next chapter to begin.