My College Cooking Experience

I moved out of my parent's house and into college in January of 2021. Rather than living in a typical college dorm, I moved into an apartment off campus. I was super nervous about moving in because I didn't know any of the other girls that I would be living with. I was a super shy freshman. However, I knew I would have a kitchen in this apartment, a luxury most freshmen didn't have.

Growing up, I was not a fan of cooking. I was afraid of using the stovetop burner and the oven till about my first year of high school. It was then that I started cooking more often due to an injury that had my mom out of kitchen for a few months. While my dad diid his best to fill in, he worked long work hours so it was up to me and my sister to help out with that task. It was there that a passion for cooking began. Ever since, I have loved cooking and preparing meals for myself and my family. I have loved trying out new recipes and techniques to make things. I was able to grow my skills for the next few years before moving to college. Being able to cook for myself was what comforted me in that transition of life.

During the first lockdown of Covid-19 in 2020, I spent a lot of time cooking and baking, which is where I developed most of my skills. I also spent a lot of time grocery shopping with my mom. I have always gone to the store with her but didn't really help her out until about high school age. I would help her decide what to buy based on what we were planning to cook that week and help her find the best produce and the best prices.

I took these skills with me to college and it helped me a lot since I was doing everything on my own for the first time. My roommates were shocked when I came home with groceries for the first time. I had purchased high quality food and they teased me for spending too much money when really I just knew how to shop deals and was saving money for the kind of food I was getting. They were equally shocked when nightly I would prepare meals for myself that seemed elaborate to them but was just a normal Tuesday dinner for me. It was then that I realized I was shopping and cooking much differently than other college students. It concerned me that so many students my age didn't know how to cook anything other than ramen so I decided to do something about it.

This blog has given me an opportunity to share what I love, cooking, with so many people. But more importantly, it allows me to educate my peers on how they can improve their shopping and cooking skills, which is a great step to take in our emerging adulthood.