What IFBC Taught Me About Myself

With less than 3 weeks till IFBC 2014, I am getting excited. It seems so long ago I bought my ticket. I mean, I bought my ticket the evening after IFBC 2013 ended in Seattle . That was how bad I wanted to come back! As soon as I got home, I was online, buying a ticket.

IFBC was the first blogger conference that I felt as if I fit into. No pretentious feelings. No feeling like there was a cool kids section – that I was never going to be invited into. Nearly everyone there was there for the same reasons:

• Food
• Writing
• Food
• Sharing
• Food

I met so many other bloggers & writers, made friends and talked so much I needed days after to even let a tiny bit of it sink in.

I came away charged, ready to go and full of ideas. It was why I was able to finish and publish 3 of my cookbooks in one quarter. I met companies, PR folks and so many more, many of which led to other things. It was a big love fest for food bloggers, and I saw why so many attendees keep coming back.

But it also showed me who I do not want to be. I ran into an old friend last year, who was also attending, who I had a falling out a few years before. She and I had gone our separate ways, just that life had changed more than anything. While talking with her, I realized my personality changed. I became more toxic, snarky and almost mean-spirited. I didn’t like that. Not at all. That maybe was me years ago, but not who I aspired to be in my current life. I took it as a sign, and a lesson learned. There was a reason we no longer ran in the same circles, I didn’t want to be that person anymore. I had grown and found more of who I wanted to be. And these other bloggers? Many of them had the same attitude and personality of what I wanted to mirror in my life. They inspired me – and I left the conference feeling in many ways that was the best part of the conference.

And that is who I hope to be this year – and even more!