Lately, I’ve been looking inward for creativity. The more I write, the more I realize that the experiences I’ve had are worth exploring. My upbringing, my hometown, and my hobbies are my stories, and beer the vehicle to tell them.
So when I received an invitation to participate in Charleston Wine & Food as talent—to host a beer and oyster pairing event—I was humbled and appreciative. The event perfectly correlated with an article I had written the month before about oysters, brewing, and sea level rise in Charleston, which was born after sitting in my kitchen until 3 a.m. one night, brainstorming about eating oysters after my high school football games and searching for the connection of that memory to the topic of climate change. I took the acknowledgment as a testament to the necessity of the story being told.
The beauty of telling stories is that unknown between moments of inspiration and where they may take you. Sitting in a Downtown Charleston restaurant, in front of 30 paying ticket holders willing to hear me explain my beer pairings with oysters, was all the confirmation needed for me to speak what I know and continue to find the world’s connections within my personal reflections.
