I have always loved spending time in the kitchen baking away. It was something I fell in love with back in High School when I fell into the cake pop craze. In college, I didn't bake nearly as much. I never felt like I had the time and when I did I always seemed to ruin whatever I was making. So take and bake cookie dough got the job done my four years in Morgantown.
One thing I am still learning in my career life is my work/life balance. To be honest, there isn't much of a balance there, but it used to be much worse. After my first "rough" day at work all the way back in July, I came home and turned my work phone off and promised myself not to check my email all weekend. And to distract myself and focus on something else, I baked cookies. For over an hour, I worked on a task that had an end goal that had nothing to do with work. And it really was the first time I felt a sense of accomplishment in something other than a daily task at work.
So I chased that feeling. Since then, I seem to bake goodies at least twice a month. It is a moment for myself doing something I truly enjoy to disconnect from everything else. My afternoons in the kitchen are usually spent blasting with ABBA, One Direction or Taylor Swift disconnecting from everything else. I look forward to finding new recipes and seeing how they turn out and end up with something sweet that I typically share with the newsroom. And my co-workers seem to enjoy them as well with some even sending requests.
Since July, I have made:
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Birthday Cake Cookies
Peanut Butter Blondies
Brownies with Cookie Dough Icing
Banana Bread
Cake Pops
Oreo Balls
Pretzel Cookie Dough Bites
Cookies and Cream Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Brownies
Apple Pie
Amish Friendship Bread
Everything in my life changed back in June because of work, so finding something for myself again was extremely important. At school I was able to join clubs and make friendships outside of my field of study, which isn't something I have had the opportunity to do here in Cedar Rapids. I would love to find something here in the community, but in the age of COVID, that is really difficult. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my life in the mid west and I am forever thankful that I have made the relationships that I have out here. But I needed to find a part of me, that wasn't directly connected to my work life.
But I think this is important for everyone. Maybe baking isn't your thing, but theres plenty of things out there. Maybe you're more into fitness so maybe giving yoga or running a try. Want to create something new? Scroll through Pinterest and find a few crafts to try out. I cant express enough how therapeutic it has been to accomplish for myself rather than for others.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have some old bananas in my kitchen that are dying to be turned into something sweet.
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