I just… I don’t even know what to do with this feeling anymore. It’s like a constant hum in the back of my head, or maybe more like a low-grade fever that just won't break. I’ve been trying to ignore it, to just focus on what I’m doing, but it’s becoming impossible. This whole thing… this entire situation with someone… it’s really getting to me. You spend years, YEARS, working towards something, right? Like, I went to culinary school, I paid for it myself, I put in the hours, the actual sweat and tears over hot stoves, learning classic techniques, the precision of it all. I’ve worked in professional kitchens, long shifts, demanding chefs, the whole nine yards. I’m good at it, I really am. I have the skills, the training, the understanding of how food works, how flavors combine… the science of it, you know? And then someone just… well, they just *do* something else, something much simpler, something they picked up, and suddenly that’s what everyone is talking about. It’s what gets all the attention. And it’s not even that I begrudge them their success, not really. I mean, good for them, genuinely. It’s just… the scale of it. It’s absurd. I’m over here, trying to make a name for myself, honing my craft in a small restaurant in a town where everyone knows everyone and there aren’t exactly a lot of options, or even a lot of people who *get* what I’m trying to do… and then this other thing just explodes. Like, they put up some pictures, share some recipes for things that are frankly pretty basic, and suddenly they have thousands, TENS of thousands of followers, and people are asking *them* for advice, and writing articles about *their* little side hustle. Meanwhile, I’m still just… me. The guy who went to school for this, who actually knows what he’s doing. It feels like all my effort, all my dedication, just gets completely overshadowed, completely ignored, by something that’s frankly… less. Less technical, less skilled, less… everything. It’s making me question everything, honestly. Like, was it even worth it? All that money, all that time, all that passion I poured into learning how to be a proper chef… when the world seems to value something else entirely, something less rigorous, less demanding. I know it’s not a competition, I know it shouldn’t be, but when you’re constantly hearing about someone else’s triumphs in the same general sphere, and yours just feel so… small, so insignificant in comparison… it’s hard not to feel a particular kind of rage, you know? Not at them, not really. More like… at the unfairness of it all. Or maybe at myself for not choosing something easier, something that would resonate more with people. I just want… I don't know what I want. To be seen, I guess. To be recognized for the actual work, the ACTUAL talent. Instead, I just feel invisible. And angry. So, so angry.