“Why?”
When I decided to go to school in Alabama, that was the response from pretty much everyone in my life. When I decided to stay in Alabama after graduating, that “Why?” got a little bit louder.
I didn’t really know the answer initially. I chose to stay in Birmingham because I was lost and trying to figure out my path in life. Birmingham took me in as a blank canvas and gave me pretty much everything I have today. It’s the place where I found my passion, my career, my strength, and some of my favorite people in the universe.
The decision to leave was a hard one and something that I waffled back and forth between for a while. I knew I always wanted to get back to Chicago, but something kept making it me push it off. I finally had to ask myself, “Why?”
Anyway, these people are my why. Some of the kindest, funniest, passionate, best humans I’ve been lucky enough to have in my life. People that pushed me to be better and follow my dreams. People that made it so hard to say goodbye, and who I will be seeing again.
I love you all, I love Birmingham, and I’m so excited to see what’s next.
camp changes lives.
it takes a few days of sitting in the silence to realize how real that statement is.
a lot of people in my life know that i tried for many years to finally get accepted to camp runamok. when the time came i was overjoyed. i had heard so many stories of how much you learn, how many friends you make, how much fun you have.
the stories don’t do it justice.
this week has taken the passion i already had for this industry and turned it up to 10000. the experience of being surrounded by hundreds of beautiful, fun, smart, creative, gifted, funny, passionate fellow bartenders is really something that can’t be found anywhere else. the sense of community is something i feel like i have been searching for my entire adult life. it taught me to trust myself and be confident in myself. camp gave me the gift of knowing who i am and who i want to be.
thank you @camp_runamok@livethelushlife@short4lizzard and the entire lush life team that made this happen.
thank you @skillzytini and @xanadujulie for being the best counselor and brand mom i could have ever asked for.
thank you @s_woodiie@saltmami@liftoff_libations and @misstaylergray for making the lost explorer cabin the best bunk at camp
and thank you to everyone else that i had the absolute pleasure of meeting, whether we spoke for 30 seconds or an hour. every single one of you made this the best experience of my life.
i promise i’ll take more pictures next year.
a year ago today i saw a facebook post about dogs needing homes and made the best impulse decision of my life. sloane has brought me so much joy and love and i’m so glad i have many more years of her following my every move wherever i go.
trust your bartender and also trust that i haven’t forgotten how to make a bangin’ cocktail.
gold rum. allspice. orgeat. grenadine. passionfruit. lime. bitters. yummy.
📸@bamitsmonica
persistence is key!!! after several years of getting waitlisted i’m SO excited to finally be attending @camp_runamok for the fall 2024 session. i can’t wait to meet more of my industry folk and tour some distilleries. see y’all in august!!
2023. this year i had some of the biggest laughs and the greatest adventures. i got to see the world with my closest friends. i started to find myself and my own confidence. i got my sweet angel sloane. i almost died and learned how lucky i am to have so many people care about me. i got to meet some of my industry heroes. 2023 was the year i figured out that it’s all going to be okay.
happy new year. i love y’all. roll tide.
