And as our lives change, come WHATEVER, we will still be friends forever.

As cheesy as it is to quote an old, overplayed, and completely overused Vitamin C song for a blog post title, I find myself without any other words. Graduation. Something most people get to do maybe a couple times in their life.

This year, (I guess when Vitamin C said "come whatever," she meant Covid...) school was abruptly ended and no goodbyes were exchanged. We all left thinking there would be another day at school with our favorite food, our favorite Chefs, learning our favorite things,

in our favorite building in the world: Joliet Junior College City Center.

This is the group of wonderful people I spent my first semester with at JJC.

This is me after my first 8 weeks of Culinary School knife skills in 112 with Chef Thompson. I was so excited! And had so much more to learn.

This is after the end of my first semester at JJC. If that's not an adorable plate of chicken picatta, I don't know what is! :) :)

Once I had been through my entire experience at JJC, my life had been completely changed. I had incredible memorable moments in a few key classes there that changed my complete outlook on what Culinary could be.

112 with Chef Thompson - You are so inspiring. Being the first impression for students at JJC as an instructor of 112 is an important role, and you are doing a remarkable job. I'll never forget my time in your class on the fifth floor. And even in the fabrication labs when I would struggle the most, I ultimately learned the most about myself. Thank you for everything you taught me.

Showpieces and French Pastry with Chef Andy - You have said one thing that I'll always remember, and that is that you've forgotten more about pastry and showpieces than you'll ever be able to teach in class. That is no freakin' joke. I wish I would have been able to finish that chocolate showpiece of the flower pot shelf, when the ACF starts competitions we'll be at it again I hope!

Center of the Plate and all of the Friday nights in Thrive with CMC Bucci - You're a badass, a super nice guy, extremely intimidating, and honestly surprising at times. I'm grateful for all you taught me. For anyone not familiar, CMC stands for Certified Master Chef, and I feel honored to have had a CMC to teach me at JJC.

Ice Carving with Chef McGreal - You were the first friendly face I spoke to at JJC and the one that got me started with ice carving. I will forever be grateful. I miss your cheerleader attitude while I'm carving! Thank you for everything you've done for all of your students, including me. You have such a big heart!

Cost and Portion with Chef Richardson-I'll always agree with what you said the first day of class; you're teaching us the most important thing at school. Thank you for making that so abundantly clear from the beginning.

Flavor Pairing Dynamics with Sommelier Bell - You have an understanding of the dining room that is amazing. I value all of the time I spent learning from you and am bummed I didn't get to serve you an amazing final meal at the end of class. I'm grateful for the way you taught us to think about wine and food as a whole.

As the pandemic progressed, obviously the virtual ceremony is what JJC ended up going with to keep all of their students safe. We were able to submit a photo and video, so I filmed this carving video for all of the graduates of 2020.

Looking back on these moments with this chapter of my life completed, I am completely grateful. I was so lucky to be able to have the opportunity to go back to college later in life and enjoy my passion fully (Robert Grafer I am so grateful for your unending support through the entire process <3 ). Going to JJC helped me find myself and solidify my personal core values, not to mention introduce me into a world of amazing Chefs that showed me what being a Chef is about in the first place.

As we go on... we remember... all the times we spent together. And as our lives change, come whatever, we will still be CHEFS forever.