A Wannabe Foodie's Guide to Becoming a Foodie

There are people that can go to a restaurant and order the most obscure thing on the menu and then there are those that always play it safe. I tend to fall in the middle - when I do take the adventurous leap my taste buds seem to fail me. To me, foodwise, there is nothing worse than putting yourself out there at a restaurant, ordering something new and hating it. You take the first few bites quickly, trying to convince yourself that the true flavor will reveal itself in time. Then you begin to slow down, chugging your drink because you feel like you need to be doing something, if not eating. Finally, your plate is only half empty when everyone else at the table is finished with their meal and onto dessert. The waitress or waiter stops by and asks you if something is wrong and you try to play it off that you weren't as hungry as you thought, because you fear that feelings will be hurt. I fall into the same place with cooking. I am the kind of person that wants to love to cook because I do very much love food, but at the end of the day, my efforts fail more often than not and it only makes me discouraged. As a person who wants to become more knowledgeable and appreciative of the wonderful foods that are out there, I have decided that there are steps one can take to get on the path to becoming a full fledged foodie. I have begun to take them and believe I am on my way, but I would love your input, especially if you share the same goal or better yet, are already there...