Well, I started out baking with my grandmother who went to school for baking and cake decorating. Since I was her first grandchild, I got whatever I wanted even when I was grown. But when I was little she would bake me whatever I asked for. I even had ice cream for breakfast if I asked for it. One day I asked for something and she said yes but only if I helped her. I was the kind of kid who wanted to know how everything worked, so I agreed.
By the time I was 12, I could bake and decorate my own cakes without any help. At that time I moved away from my grandmother. My mother, me and my siblings moved to the other side of town. Since my father wasn't around, my mother had to work and she taught me how to cook, clean, sew, and do laundry to help take care of my siblings. Until this day, I still do my own laundry and cook a lot. Yes, I can still sew and have always helped keep the house clean. I do not want a woman who does not work and we split the house work evenly. I've always said, "There's no man's work or woman's work...there's house work. If you live in the house, you do the damn work!"
When I was young I didn't like cooking but the little girls would ask me to bake things for them and would be, um...let's say, VERY appreciative for my efforts...even if I screwed it up. Needless to say, to keep the girls happy (and myself LMAO) I needed to step up my cooking skills. Girl "A" would like something one way while girl "B" would like the same thing but a different way. I quickly learned to adapt to their wants/needs.
It wasn't until I got older that I'd actually realized that I've taught myself a lifelong skill. And now, I actually enjoy it! I don't have to beg and plead for someone to make something for me. I don't have to go to a restaurant just to get something special I love to eat. I'm not tied to someone telling me what I have to eat because I can't make it myself. Eating is something you MUST do in order to survive and I eat well! I am very grateful my mother taught me how to cook. I've never really got into baking breads until now. I don't decorate cakes anymore but can still bake a very tasty one! If I had stuck with it I might be a baker now. But sadly, I was discouraged from it by the men in my family. They would say things like, "You're going to be a sissy.", etc. Now I wish that I've never listen to them...