Throughout the duration of my life, I had taken delicious food for granted. I never truly realized how wonderful and tasty the food that my mother made for me day in and out really was. Growing up, I always assumed that everyone could cook like my mom. It turns out that my assumption was incredibly wrong. As a child, I would always wake up to a spectacular breakfast, eat a nice packed lunch from my mother at school, and return home from school to the smell of a home cooked dinner. Once again, I did not realize that not all children had this luxury. I would have been much more appreciative and I feel as if it would have made me enjoy the food even more. As I entered high school, I started to make more friends and started eating dinner at other kid’s houses. This is the time period where I really started to grasp that not all food tastes amazing. Another moment that made me understand this was after I tried to eat the food my school served at lunch. The food was repulsive and in the food, I would often find bones or other types of hard material. I remember eating a chicken patty, and biting into a hard, dark material that had the texture of a tooth. Other kids thoroughly enjoyed this food, whereas I thought it was sickening. This thought was perplexing to me and it made me appreciate food, and my mother even more. After the first couple days of eating college food, I found myself getting stomach pains, and digestive problems day after day. I was tired of being sick after eating every single meal. Something had to change. I called my mother, and asked her to email me some recipes. She sent me a cookbook in the mail. My brother, who has a home on campus allowed me to start using his kitchen to cook. This is when I really felt attached with food. I have not been cooking very long, but still the food I make is much better than the food that I get in the school’s cafeteria. It has also inspired me to try new things and attempt to eat healthier. I enjoy making and eating fresh salads and vegetables. My favorite food to make is spaghetti and meatballs because it reminds me of eating in my actual home which is three hours away. I have cut weight, and I feel as if I have a lot more energy to do things. I feel much healthier as I do not feel sick, and have severe stomach issues after every single meal that I eat anymore. I personally think that day by day I am becoming a better cook, and I hope that this continues for the rest of my college career. Looking back I am disappointed in myself that I did not take the time to savor the excellence of my mother’s cooking every single day of my childhood. The way that my mother cooked has inspired myself to become a better cook, thus I do not have to settle for nauseating college food for four consecutive years of my life. I also am striving to become a better cook in hopes that one day, my children think of my cooking as highly as I think of the cooking of my own mother.