If you were to walk up to a stranger and ask them to list off a few things they consider themselves bad at, how might you expect them to respond? Answers such as “public speaking” and “being on time” would likely be quite common. If you’re talking to the average American, you might even get an answer along the lines of “using the metric system” or “understanding stoppage time in soccer.” However, something no one would likely say they are bad at is “eating”- well, unless you’re me.
About now you might be asking yourself, “how can someone be bad at eating?” and to that I would respond that it's embarrassingly simple. Despite naturally being an extremely unpicky eater, I always seem to end up either chowing down on one of the few foods I despise or can’t eat. The only two dietary guidelines that I’ve had (being a vegetarian and not eating chocolate/candy) are pretty simple to follow; however, I just seem to always accidentally run into them. Even when I do manage to order the right food, it's not uncommon for me to misplace or drop it before ever getting to eat it. For some context, let's look at an incident report of just a few of my meal mix-ups…
Incident 1: Grabbed some Burger King with my mom and ate what I assumed was an Impossible Whopper. Turns out I accidentally ate her sandwich which was beef.
Incident 2: Had breakfast with some friends and ate what I assumed was a blueberry pancake. Turns out they were chocolate chip.
Incident 3: Was eating some Asian food with the family and got handed a plate of rice with little dark, almost unnoticeable bits in it. Turns out those small bits were crab.
Incident 4: Before I could eat my hummus sandwich, I tilted it and all of its ingredients fell onto the floor. Turns out some things are simply too good for this world, hummus being one of them.
This list could go on for much longer than I’d care to admit or you’d care to read, but by looking back on all of these eating mishaps, one thing is clear: while being bad at eating probably isn’t the best for my stomach, it certainly lends itself over to some oddly memorable stories. Any one of the aforementioned incidents has been brought up and retold dozens of times within my family and never fails to get people chuckling. The more I think about it, the more I realize just how many goofy switch-ups, random conversations, and overall good times I’ve had, all while simply eating with friends or family.
When you really think about it, we all spend a sizable portion of our lives just eating. While we’ve already established I might not be an expert on food, last time I checked it wasn’t possible to go more than a handful of days without eating. So, if we all spend an average of around fouryears of our lives eating, what's the best way to put this time to use? Most of us wouldn’t say “eating with one hand while doom scrolling with the other” is the correct answer to this question, yet nonetheless many of us live as though it were.
If we’re being honest with ourselves, it's much easier to peruse Instagram reels than to apply ourselves in dinner table conversations. Even when we do feel like chatting, in such a busy world it can seem impossible to even get anyone together for meals in the first place. This, however, is an even greater reason not to overlook the time you do get to spend simply just eating with family and friends. All of the goofy stories and mishaps I mentioned above would’ve been much more irritating if it weren’t for the fact that I was surrounded by friends and family who could laugh with me at the comical nature of the whole situation. If I’m bad at eating and still manage to have fun sharing meals with loved ones, imagine how many fun memories you could make simply by not taking the time you get to sit down and enjoy a meal for granted!
You might be asking yourself how anything I’ve said might apply to you, so let me quickly sum everything up for you. Life is short, and you only get so much time to spend with the people you love. By doing something even as insignificant as valuing and prioritizing the meals we are able to spend with those we care about, it’s possible to form fun, meaningful, and noteworthy memories that will be treasured for years to come. So, next time you sit down to eat with your crew, embrace the moment! Even before you start eating, instead of trying to blurt out the classic “dear-Lord-thank for-this-food-amen” prayer as fast as possible before scarfing down your food, just take a quick moment to genuinely appreciate not only the food on your plate, but the company at your table.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.