I will be giving my friend, Sam, her BREATHE key as a gift for her 22nd birthday. Sam is one of the most hard-working, loving, and passionate people I've ever had the privilege to have in my life. She went to school for Baking and Pastry and quickly put her degree to use. She is currently managing a local bakery in our hometown. On top of managing, she is making most of the yummy goodies that are in the pastry cases. Just like any typical pastry chef, she works long, crazy hours. Busy holidays such as Thanksgiving, she is often working 24-48 hours straight with an hour or so nap in between. Despite the crazy hours, the little sleep she gets, and the little social life she is able to have, she loves what she does.
However, her work has put a toll on her health. Sam struggles with Crohn's disease and has since she was little. This limits the foods she can eat and the list of foods she shouldn't eat or is sensitive to, seems endless. This can be very hard for someone who works in the food industry, especially as a pastry chef who can't always eat all the yummy things she's surrounded by. A combination of the inflammation in her intestines because of eating some foods she didn't know she wasn't allowed to eat and the hard work she puts in has put a lot of stress on her body and triggered a flare up. This meant her body basically was fed up and she got very sick. She lost a significant amount of weight in a very short time due the inability to keep any food down. She took the needed steps to start improving her health and is currently gaining her weight back, able to eat the foods she can eat, and starting to feel like a normal person again. Despite how sick she felt, she was still at work everyday, because the bakery and customers relied on her. That dedication and work ethic is not something everyone can commit to. I'm inspired by how hard she works, how strong she is and how positive she stays throughout it all. When I was trying to decide what to get her for her birthday, I wanted something that was going to inspire her, keep her motivated towards being happy and healthy, but also a reminder to take a break when she needed to. When I came across The Giving Keys and stumbled upon the key pendants, it clicked. It couldn't have been a more perfect gift for her and it was exactly what I was looking for. I chose BREATHE because she has the word tattooed on her side, near her ribs. Hopefully this will be the reminder she needs of how strong she is but how every strong person needs to take a break, relax, and breathe every so often. By giving this key to her, I know this will serve it's purpose in her possession, but I also know when the time comes, she will pass it on to someone who needs it even more than she does.
