Written By: Michael Sandoval

The Path

Cause and E(A)ffect

I realize that a lot of my stories up to this point have had a very serious and even dramatic connotation….

When I decided to create this page, I made an agreement to myself. I agreed that I would write from the heart and allow it to let it be as honest as it would could be.

As I have previously mentioned in my stories, time has been given to me as a gift despite of it’s persistence. We sometimes forget that a Moment in time will only occur once… I will never again experience or duplicate May 7, 2020, during the moment that I wrote this. I will never experience the exact smells of the wild spring daffodils in the Andalusian air while writing this blog in the course of the historic Pandemic.

Cherish the Time……. Cherish the Moment…….. Cherish The Path…

I’ve had the chance to briefly describe how much of an impact my family has had in the growth of my career and my life….. It is very difficult to describe in words how thankful I am, and how each of them has fulfilled a different piece of the puzzle that makes me.

The one thing that I never realized when starting my career was how much I would sometimes impact(affect) them.

I began The Path with a determined sprint… At one Moment I looked back behind me and there wasn’t anyone there.

I was starting to leave people in the far distance….I was incredibly proud of my accomplishments and was excited of how the dedication had led me to young success in my career.

But, the running didn’t only drive me forward in career, it also made me leave my family and loved ones behind. Without knowing, wanting or worrying, I realized that I was becoming so distant to the people that I loved the most. To those individuals that had inspired me to become better, to remember to have a kind heart, to respect life and to be selfless.

I realized that the young individuals (my nieces and nephews) that looked up to me were being let down at times by my driving force.

Birthdays missed, Christmas days lost, special family event left without a sign of me present.

As time passed, my heart was impacted and I was embarrassed by my lack of presence. It prompted me to naturally become even more distant…

I can promise this to the world, family and loved ones now!

I love you all with all my heart and I never intended to hurt you.  I never meant to hurt myself!

I know that my decisions and actions have led to our physical distance. I am committed to our future and the rest of our lives together as a Family although miles apart!

Napa Valley:

I moved to Napa Valley when I was 24 years old. I left home to pursue “ThePath”. I was to become the Ex. Sous Chef of Michelin starred Bouchon….

I left the life that I knew, into a tremendous life of continuous unknowns……

I didn’t know how to be an individual…

I didn’t know how to be alone…

I didn’t know how to be independent…

I didn’t know how to be a professional…

A leader…

A grown man…

A friend…

A partner…

A responsible human…

Successful…

Emotional…

…..

I was going to have to figure it out! How was I going to become the man that I wanted to be…..

It was about to be the:

“Largest Growing moments of my career and “Path”.

I still remember the day I left. I had spent weeks packing my things but for some reason there is only one moment I remember the most. It was my family walking me out of my parents house wishing me the best luck. I remember my niece giving me a CD(yeah, they still existed) that she had recorded for me to listen to on my way to California. She made the cover herself and on it she wrote simple words that made me smile:

We Love you Michael, We will Miss you Michael. She drew stick figures of our family in the background and inside was CD of Christian music that we loved. Signed…

Love Jaelyn

The night was calm and the stars weren’t visible at all. The waves from my family faded as I made my way into the abyss of “man hood”.

I drove a short while and stopped to pick-up my best friend! I was incredibly blessed to be making this trip with a person that had been my friend for longer than anyone I had known before.

He was my brother, a man that also had played a tremendous role in my inspirational journey.

The trip to Napa Valley has some of the most incredible memories. It was the start of the new beginning. There is was no better way than to look into The Past.

Mike (my best friend) and I looked deep into our teenage years and reminisced of our lives. We played music, sang songs and told stories.

Although I was extremely nervous and afraid … I was excited to learn what “The Path” had in store!