The Power of No.

Also some snaps of what's to come!

What happens when you were super busy + plowing through multiple projects/jobs and all of a sudden everything slows down/work dries up? You stress of course! Your new job is to worry and question every single choice you’ve made in the last nine months. 

As a freelancer who is actually relatively new to freelancing (I quit my full-time job literally a month before Pandemic lockdown last year but that’s a story for another day) my mind can’t help but wonder about the future and the past at the same time. I left a full-time job with benefits in order to pursue creative endeavors like writing my cookbook and working with some awesome folks in the culinary industry. I’ve turned down some projects in the last couple of months so that I can make space for the things that I do want to work on, but a part of me somewhat regrets it.

Saying “no” has a lot of power and I’ve been really careful about where I use it. I’ve been saying it to low-paying work, to uninteresting work, and to people who clearly want to use my work, but don’t care about me in general. I’ve also had to say “no” to some incredible work that I know would have been amazing experiences, but just came at the wrong time. Ultimately, saying “no” as a freelancer is a super high privilege that I take really seriously. Everyone is out here grinding + hustling because ya know that’s the culture we’ve built everything on nowadays and I’m over here turning down work. Ugh.

I am by no means rich or well off (I’m very far from it) to be turning down gigs (my bank account is currently screaming at me), but I have to remember that I made a promise to myself about doing things that I love first + foremost. Life is too unexpected and possibly short to be doing the things you don’t want to do. So much of life is saying “yes” to everything and everyone that it almost becomes habitual. So as I try to be more regretfully intentional about what I work on + who I work with (my wallet literally just deflated in defeat as I write this) I will continue working on personal goals, milestones + projects because that’s really all I can do at the moment until new exciting work picks up again.

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Guys, I’ve officially finished the A’s and can’t wait to share the rest of that part of the Eating A-Z in NYC series. Here are some teasers of what’s to come in the following weeks! 

Please don’t ask what this is. You’ll just have to wait + see! :)

Cool decor from one of the places I went to.

Please don’t divulge the location if you know where this menu is from! :)

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Also, here are some snaps of what I’m been eating recently. 

Tiny fried sardines from Vietnamese traveling pop-up restaurant Has Dac Biet.

Mussels, rice noodles, + greens tossed in a spicy fish sauce from Has Dac Biet.

Grilled mackerel + sausage meant as stuffing for summer rolls.

Didn’t eat here, but saw this random little organic market in Hastings on Hudson. Definitely felt like a sign from the universe at the time I saw it.

As always I sincerely thank you all for the likes, shares, + emails that you send me. This newsletter is the kind of work that I love + say “yes” to every week. I’ll be sending you all some cool news on the future of Food For Thought. very soon! :)

Cook. Eat. Repeat.

Natalie