423 Howell CrossingCanton, GA

April 19, 2012

Judges, Senior ProjectCreekview High School1550 Owens Store RoadCanton, GA 30115

Dear Judges:

Hello, my name is Peyton Boggs. I am 19 years old and I am looking forward to showing each of you my creativity, love and care that has gone into my Senior Project. Ever since I was a little girl, I imagined myself not ever deciding what I wanted to do when I got older, or being late in what I chose to study for my career. One day, I had a traumatic experience that would have an effect on me for the rest of my life; parents divorcing. As I watched my parents fight and tears flowing from their eyes I realized that I wanted to help them, help humanity in counseling and comfort them. As I got older, I watched more and more scenarios occur of people’s lives getting overtaken by drugs, alcohol, abuse, abandonment, and even becoming mentally ill from it all. Through these witnesses, I have decided on helping people get through their rough times and hopefully making it possible for them to start over as a new person. For my Senior Project I have decided to cater an African meal for a fundraising banquet that is raising money to help change the lives of the children in Africa suffering from poverty.

My product is the African dishes; Moroccan steak with sweet potatoes and Tanzanian baked bananas I will actually be cooking and serving for the people of the banquet. In this, it comes in relation to my Research Paper because it expresses and defines the struggles along with strengths of poverty. Throughout the process of this project there were some obstacles that I had to get through. One, was in the first dish, the Moroccan steak, I did not have the right ingredients. I quickly went to the store and bought the right ingredients and used them to complete the first dish. The second obstacle is in the second dish, Tanzanian baked bananas. I misread the directions and overcooked the food. After getting constantly frustrated with this dish I began to experiment a little and came up with a better solution or product. The problems that I encountered during the creation of my product made me think I would never get through it and be able to create the right meal for the banquet, especially if it involved African spices and ingredients. But I found myself overcoming the delays and finishing the meal as I planned to and in the way I had wanted it done.

Catering is a hobby that I find myself enjoying a lot. People start their own catering businesses and create new foods to show off to banquets, weddings, ceremonies, etc.

What I learned about myself throughout this entire project is that the level of my love and patience can be increased as long as I am doing something for someone else and know that it could potentially change their lives and their futures. I also found that I love to be involved and interact with others. Before I did this project I hated to be around people and talk to them just because I thought they were not worth my time, but by catering to these people of the banquet and talking to them about where they have come from and how they can relate to the children in Africa, it has made me appreciate the human race a little more. Even though I absolutely love to cook and have been doing it ever since I was a little girl, I do not think I will pursue this as my career for the future. I do, however believe that this can get my foot in the door to a career that I decide to pursue later on in life.

This project in itself was an excellent experience for me to have. Yes there were a lot of things in the Senior Project that I really hated, but it gave me an opportunity to express myself and stick things out. It also made me work harder than just giving up on what I had started. I am hoping that this experience will be a source for my succession in my future goals and achievements I will have in the future.

Sincerely,

Your signature

Peyton Boggs