Hi, I’m Mikka. A lot of people (family and friends included), think of me as The Food Girl.
Not to say that I’m complaining—I love food with a ridiculous, indulgent passion, I might even include in my wedding vow the line “I knew you were the one because I love you more than food (specifically butter—or chocolate)”. It’s cool, too, that my line of work is set in the industry of food media, but there are days that I’d like to be known as something else. Maybe, you know, just plain Mikka. All five feet of pint-sized me, scars and wounds and all. And, perhaps, the occasional crazy.
I distinctly remember a night when I went to a party—spontaneously—with a couple of my friends. I was a bit stressed out with work, and all I wanted to do was unwind. Upon stepping into the venue, I greeted several people I knew and each of them asked me the same question—why are you here? For work? I felt awkward and weird about it (was it so wrong to be at a party just because?), so I politely responded “no” and “may I excuse myself to get a drink” to shake it off and have a good time.
I know these things come naturally. There are certain associations made given the output you produce. But there’s always more to just the label. I have friends who are coined “pretentious fashion snobs” or “quiet hipster artists”, but are far from the image they’ve been perceived as. I guess the point I want to get across is that it gets frustrating at times, being stuck in the box people put you in. For me, it tricks me into thinking that my capabilities are limited and I end up convincing myself that I can only do so much because of the output I produce. Yes, it gets to me sometimes to the point I get so insecure about doing something else aside from food because, what will people think? It gets to me a lot.
That’s why I firmly believe in passion projects. Whether it’s a movement, a bucket list, a blog, or simply doing anything you’ve always wanted to do—do it. For me, it’s travel. I started my travel blog The Tiny Traveler as a result. What I love about traveling is that I get the chance to explore places where I can wander freely and without hesitation.
Food is also a huge reason to why I travel as it is a key representation of a certain culture or country. And finding that sweet spot between my gastronomic passions and scratching my wanderlust itch is very, very fulfilling. It also grounds me and helps me put things into perspective especially when the going gets tough.
I still roll my eyes and breathe out a sigh of exhaustion when people think that I travel because it is, again, part of my job, when it actually is not. I don’t even get the chance to explain myself, but what I’ve been learning in the process is to hold these things more loosely. Maybe the best thing to do is to embrace it. People will always have their own perception of us anyway, and that’s such a normal thing because we are guilty of placing people in boxes, too. The truth is, we’re all just in search of our identities in a world so magnificent and chaotic and beautiful.
Being stuck with a certain label, I have learned, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s all a matter of perspective and whether you would take this as a stepping-stone or the other way around. We all have to start somewhere, and maybe I’m starting out as “The Food Girl”. But I’d like to be known for something else, not as another Whatever Girl, but something beyond that. Not to prove a point, but maybe because this is just who I am—a curious, pocket-sized girl with an itchy pair feet and a big heart (and stomach) for food with stories that she hopes would inspire the world.
My name is Mikka, and I guess you can think of me as The Food Girl–but I’d also like to let you know that I want to inspire the world through the life lessons I pick up through my travels in the hopes that, perhaps, I can make a lasting difference.
Image attribution: The Tiny Traveler
