The Beauty in Serendipity...

Hello family and friends!


You know... one of the most beautiful gifts about life is the uncertainty of the future. Spontaneity provides the path to adventures. While formulating plans is important in order to achieve goals and accomplish daily tasks, one can only plan to a certain extent. Eventually destiny will run its course.


How about a short travel back into time, shall we? May 2007. Two weeks after graduating from Miami University, I stepped off the plane onto foreign grounds. I had left my family, my friends and my country in order to learn the art of gastronomy from the culinary capital of the world… Paris. Armed with two suitcases and a smile, I was ready for the challenge. Granted, I did not know a soul in the dazzling City of Light; however, the uncertainty of the future made the adventure even more appealing (and let’s face it... as a two year old I was required to wear a "Christmas bell" draped around my neck. My own, very own "tracking device' because I would aimlessly run away and talk with strangers). Ergo, I was not afraid to make new friends!


Once accepted into Le Cordon Bleu, I received an enormous package of paperwork which included the school rules, principles, valuable information, etc. Noted on every document was the policy of attendance and punctuality. Essentially, if you are on time, then you are already late... AKA – ARRIVE EARLY. I have always made it a goal to arrive at meetings/classes/interviews early as a sign of respect. Time is one of the most valuable gifts in life because it is something which is finite. No matter how hard we may try, one cannot alter time. I respect when an individual makes time for me in his or her hectic schedule. Therefore, in order to show my appreciation and gratitude, I arrive early. Oh, and you know me... I am "that girl" in the front and center of the classroom. Sweet life.


In order to familiarize myself with the City of Light, I arrived in Paris a few weeks before my classes actually began. This gave me the opportunity to explore the city, dabble in some touristy-visitations of monuments and discover authentic French cafes, bookstores, boutiques and parks. I also found a plethora of different transportation methods and routes to travel to LCB: walking, Metro, light-rail, bus, and all-out sprinting… oh how glorious you are, foreshadowing...


My orientation for classes was scheduled for 9.30 am on 11 June 2007. Remember the issue that I previously stressed? Promptness. In order to provide an ample amount of time for an early arrival, I set my alarm clock for 7.00 am the night before my orientation. My alarm clock thought otherwise.


You can probably see where this is going...


Seven o’clock in the morning. I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes and immediately jumped out of bed… overly elated to begin a new endeavor! My intention was to leave by 8.30 in order to arrive at LCB by 9.15… leaving fifteen minutes to spare. I made myself a leisurely breakfast (the most important meal of the day!), showered and looked presentable. Because it was only eight in the morning, I still had an abundance of free time before my pilgrimage to school. Therefore, I decided to check my emails and well... creep on facebook (seriously though… is there a better adjective to describe facebook? "I, umm... I noticed as I was stalking you this morning that you seem to be doing well with your facebook status update!") But that is beside the point... back to the computer. As I was perusing my emails, my eyes were directed toward the small digital clock in the bottom right-hand side of my computer screen. 9.05.


Time out for a mild heart-attack.


Walk it off, kid... walk it off.


Apparently my "atomic world clock" had a mind its own and desired to be in London, as it had somehow switched to British time during the night. I know… one should confidently rely on the "atomic world clock," to display the correct time (shoot... sounds promising enough to even experience time-travel with a name like that... I guess it did... tricksy-hobbit).


Because I lived in the 75016 area of Paris, providing ample travel-time was essential in order to make it to my destination on time. I had twenty-five minutes to get to school. Gentlemen, take your mark.


I literally threw on my ballet-flat shoes (why I did not slip on my running-shoes, I will never know) and I bolted out the door. I literally transformed into a wild gazelle. As a child, my hero was Florence Griffith-Joyner "Flo-Jo." During the 1988 Olympic games, I was memorized by her speed and I ran around the house while she competed. I was captivated with her long, flowing hair and glitzy running uniforms. What can I say... I was born with an eye for glitter :) As I was literally dashing through the streets of Paris, my feet were hovering and I was jumping through crowds, avoiding traffic and Parisian dog "presents" that littered the sidewalk.


The ‘light-rail’ station was located on the other side of the bridge which crossed the Seine. I remember seeing the train and thinking to myself, "if I can muster up enough speed, I can make it to the train, then hopefully be on time for orientation!" What a brilliant idea! As I was rapidly moving closer and closer, I was becoming more and more confident... success was within my grasp!


Oh no friends, that would make the story too easy.


I was literally thirty feet away from the train when I heard the bell ding and saw the wheels begin to turn. I remember crying out, "Come back! Come back!" While I have to pat myself on the back for the solid effort in attempting to coax the train to stop, my efforts were eventually in vain. The train picked up speed as I continued to dig down deep and fly down the side walk. My new goal... forget making it to orientation on time... I was not about to let this train get the best of me! At every stop, I caught-up to with the train, only to be left behind in its dust. However, I soon caught the train (thank you, very much). I jumped on while trying to take-in as much air as possible. My muscles burned with lactic acid (an amazing feeling which only athletes appreciate!) However, I was only able to ride one measly stop before having to jump off and skip-steps down into the Metro station. Fortunately the Metro arrived in time for me to skip on. I looked down at my watch... 9.25. Seriously. I still had five minutes! I rode the Metro two stops, then back to the races! I bolted through several side-streets and leaped up the stairs into Le Cordon Bleu.


Nine-thirty. Success. As I entered the building, I must have been a sight to see... my hair was everywhere, sweat was pouring down my face and I had a ridiculously-enormous smile plastered on my face because I had arrived on time. Disheveled, yet elated. And they say that first impressions are everything...


So my friends... there are times in life when we plan and prod a certain situation in order to manipulate it to meet our own plans and desires. However, is this truly living? The beauty of life is having the freedom to fail, the freedom to succeed, the freedom to take a wretched circumstance and turn it into a glorious victory. We can choose to cry, or we can choose to run like the wind! Call it serendipity. Call it destiny. Life is a beautiful gift.




All my love from this stunningly beautiful state of Arizona,
SB :)