This week Her Campus had the pleasure of sitting down with Brianna Gerrity, owner and creator of the blog Pizza & Tofu Rolls (https://www.tofupizzarolls.com) to talk about her inspirations, motivations and passions!
Her Campus: Hey Brianna! I know a little about your blog, but I was wondering if you could tell me more about it?
Brianna Gerrity: My blog is called “Tofu & Pizza Rolls” (https://www.tofupizzarolls.com) and I created it because I love creating, in general. Whether that is a new recipe, photography, videography, some designs or prints I’ve made, I am constantly playing around with different mediums and I really just wanted a place to house all of it. I chose the name “Tofu & Pizza Rolls” because I thought it really captured the randomness and polar opposite that is me and therefore, that is my site. I love tofu and eating vegan, but I also refuse to restrict myself because … like why? So if I’m craving pizza rolls, that’s what I’m going to eat. So Tofu & Pizza Rolls is just one example of the polar opposite content you’ll find there. My plan is to just continue logging my content and figuring out my style, and this summer I’m planning on incorporating my gardening!
HC: Based on your blog, it looks like you enjoy traveling! Where would you love to travel and why?
BG: Traveling is SO important. I know everyone says that, but it really does make you think globally and allows people to reflect on some of the norms that we hold so close and really look at the world and say “hey I’m not as important as I think I am..” It sounds negative, but I think when you take away your ego from a global perspective, you’re able to give out so much more compassion because you see yourself as just like everyone else. We’re all a big family on this earth. I’m definitely planning more international travel now that I have a job that allows me to pay my student loans etc. Name a place, and I want to visit. Indonesia, Greece, Ireland, Japan. I would love to visit Asia and just spend a week or so in every area. Food really dictates most of my trips, and Asian cuisine is my all-time fav! So getting sushi in Japan, then some glass noodles in Thailand, some dim sum in China, pho in Vietnam, fresh kimchi in Korea, it seems like a delicious way to travel, and I truly think food is the best way to learn about a culture.
HC: Your blog posts are accompanied by pictures, and they are truly incredible! Would you ever want to be a photographer full time?
BG: I love capturing life through my lens, I think it’s a great way to showcase your work, but I’m not 100% sold on doing it full time. I do freelance photo shoots (*cough cough*.. dm me if interested ;) ) and I love the whole process from planning to editing, but I think if I ever chose to do just one thing I would get bored. Plus, let’s be honest, everyone and their sister with a dslr and lightroom mobile can be a photographer now.
HC: What would be your dream job and why? BG: My goal/dream currently is to grow my site and position myself to create content for other businesses, whether that is marketing, advertising, social media, or general photo/video. I would love to be able to work from home and really spend time cultivating a sustainable garden. Like I said, I’m planning on starting a garden portion of my blog, and I would love to see that grow into a community to sustainable gardeners who support local economies and waste free alternatives. I’d love to be able to be my own boss and just continuously support people who do good for the world.
HC: I’ve also seen pictures of the food you make, and I don’t like brussels sprouts but your bacon wrapped ones were extremely tempting! Where do you get the inspiration for your recipes?
BG: Those bacon brussels are SO GOOD! I get a lot of inspiration from shopping consciously. Unfortunately, in Michigan winters, we don’t have a ton of opportunities to source our food from local farmers, but I try to purchase my ingredients as ethically as possible; going to weekly farmers markets and buying my grains and whatever I can in bulk to reduce packaging. It takes more time to shop, but I feel better about what I’m eating, I know my money is going back into my community, and it honestly ends up costing less where I live, (in the summer I try to grow as much as I can in my concrete garden), so my recipes most of the time come from my shopping process. I cook very intuitively, so whatever sounds good that day is what I’m going to eat, so if I end up with something my boyfriend is like “holy crap this is great” or something I impress myself with, I end up remaking it to form a recipe. I should also mention that my dad is a chef, so I grew up exploring new foods and have never been a picky eater. I’m just a genuinely curious person, so any avenue that excites me I explore until I’m bored.
HC: I saw your post on the bride tribe, could you give me a little bit of the event’s background?
BG: The Bride tribe photo shoot was so much fun! I have a coworker who got married this past year, along with a few of her friends, and they were all complaining about how it’s kind of crazy that they spend all of this money on their wedding dress just to wear it for one day. So they came up with the idea for a Bridal Bar Crawl in Kalamazoo! We did the promo shoot for the Facebook event, it was a blast! The actual event is on May 19 in Kalamazoo, and it’s for anyone who has an expensive garment in their closet that they regret only wearing once. Those bridesmaids or prom dresses, that tux and cumber bun, or just a dress you love that is getting dusty in your closet. I’ll be photographing the bar crawl, which is super fun. Everyone is easier to photograph after a few drinks ;)
HC: You sound like a very positive and motivated person, and I was wondering whether you could share any tips for anyone looking for help with this?
BG: I have been trying to be more positive, especially with all of the negativity and divisiveness that has been circulating after that crusty cheeto took office… I just think it’s so important to give off compassion instead of anger. My motto this year has been “You cannot change others, but you can change how you react to others”. I think a lot of us get so caught up in our ego and being “wronged” by others or being disappointed in someone, but all of that anger is just coming from you not being able to control others. Once you’re able to acknowledge your anger, and then simply let it go, you find all of this space opening up where you were carrying all of this heavy negativity. Space you can use to fill with love and joy and compassion. My biggest motivator is myself. No one will ever be able to give you the love you need like you can. I think girls especially rely so heavily on other people (*cough cough* cute boys) to provide them with happiness, whether it be envying someone in a relationship, or someone who has a better phone, or more money, all of that jealousy and envy is once again taking up precious real estate that could be utilized to love yourself and be happy without any of those things. Whenever my initial reaction to a situation is negative, I try to come up with a way that this situation is helping me grow. You are never dealt cards you cannot handle.
There’s a Rupi Kaur line that says: “and here you are living, despite it all” and I think that’s really powerful.
Photos courtesy of Brianna Gerrity
@pizzatofurolls