The Endicott Experience, Week 5 - Food For Thought

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

This weekly blog will document my firsthand experiences as a student at Endicott College. Additionally, I will attempt to offer advice to fellow college students or those looking to attend college down the line.

No matter what, people will always find something to complain about. It is simply a part of our human nature. Whether it be having too much homework or being too tired, there hasn't been a day of my college career thus far that I haven't heard someone complain about something. The most common complain I've heard, however, is one about the food that is served here at Endicott College. I think we can all agree that school food isn't the best. More often than not, it isn't produced at the school itself and is usually shipped in from somewhere else, meaning it isn't fresh at all. I didn't hate the food served at my elementary/middle/high school, but I sure wish it was better. The biggest problem with food in school systems is that there isn't much variety. That changes once you get older, and I have found that there is a wide variety of food to choose from here at college.

That being said, that is one less reason to complain about school food. With so much to choose from, there has to be at least one thing that you like. I am not sure if this is the case with other colleges, but at Endicott, you pay the bill for the food upfront and are subjected to a certain amount of meals each week at the cafeteria. I don't even use up most of my meals since I venture to other food chains on campus, which brings me to my next week. In most colleges, there is more than one place to get food. So, if there is absolutely nothing for you at your college cafeteria, why not explore other parts of the campus in hopes of finding a place that does serve something that you will like?

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As stated in previous posts, your parents won't be there at college with you to nurture you every second of the day. This includes monitoring your eating habits.  At home, your mother and/or father probably made you a nice home-cooked meal with a mix of everything: the main course, protein, vegetables (can't live with them, can't live without them), and maybe some desert afterward. At college, you won't have anyone to tell you what to eat or when to eat. You get food as you please. As big of benefit as this may be for people, it can also quickly become a major issue.

With classes happening at different times every day, eating breakfast/lunch/dinner at various points during the day will work to your benefit. You may eat earlier on one day and later on another. However, the crucial key is to not overindulge yourself. You pick and choose what food you want, so it can be very easy to simply eat, for lack of a better term, crap and junk food all day. You can still have that sort of stuff, but you have to make sure to even it out so you are not having too much of one thing. Have a bit of variety. Maintain the same eating habits you had at home (or change them if they were bad), but try some new things in doing so.

I overheard one of my fellow freshmen talking about the "Freshman 15" not too long ago, something I didn't know the meaning of until shortly thereafter. For those unaware, the "Freshman 15" is a term given to those who don't resist the tasty temptations, eat too much junk food in their first few weeks of college and gain an extra 15 pounds in the process. Your goal as a college student should be to not give to into that specific stereotype and to stay healthy.

Speaking of such, be sure to keep in shape as well. I might make this a separate blog post down the line, but it kind of ties into proper eating habits. When you are getting accustomed to your new college campus, find out where your local gym is located. That can be your best friend if used the right way. As I have said numerous times in the past, you will more than likely have plenty of times on your times while in college, so why not use some of that free time to work out for a bit at a gym? It all comes to time management and eating properly.

So, if you are one of those constant complainers who never stops bickering about the "disgusting" food in your college cafeteria, get a grip. Instead of whining and moaning, perhaps you should do something about it. Either go someplace else to find something you like or don't eat at all (although I wouldn't recommend that). Don't be one of those people who criticizes the cafeteria food only to continue to eat it. You will only be making yourself out to look like a hypocrite in the process.