Candace Nelson

We had this blissful two weeks in the south of France.

I ate every croissant in the country.

And then on the way back home to the States...

We were in the airport.

We noticed this commotion going on around the TV screens, but everything was in French, so I couldn't understand it.

And I found some kind person to share with me that something really terrible had happened in New York.

And of course, that was 9-11.

And it took me two weeks to get home between the planes getting grounded and not wanting to step on a plane to begin with.

And by the time I got home, I realized that I didn't want to go to business school.

I wanted to do something that brought me joy.

And I wanted to do something that just injected at least a little bit of meaning back into the world.

Because if it could all end tomorrow, what would my legacy be?

Just sitting at a computer and crunching numbers.

So it was really the first time I'd ever reflected on what it was I actually wanted to do.

So instead of going to business school, I decided to embrace my early childhood love of baking and go to pastry school.

Big love to her.

That's a great question because you're right, everyone.

I think they thought, yes, I'd lost my mind, but it would be temporary at least, right?

I was going to just go to pastry school, get it out of my system, and then head back on to business school and go on my merry way.

But what I learned was I really loved baking.