I simply cannot understand how people gain the freshman 15 when they go away to college. I have even been told it is now called the freshman fifty and everybody is constantly saying it’s a real thing. I do not believe it exists.

One month into college, I have decided that the freshman 15 simply is not real. My reason behind this assumption? The dining hall food.

Oh, how I hate the dining hall and the dining hall food. I hate everything about it.

I hate the walk there from my dorm, instead of just down the stairs from my bedroom to the kitchen in my house. I hate waiting in line after line. I wait to be swiped in and then I wait behind every other hungry student to get my food, as each person contemplates what they want. I wait for it to be ready, because sometimes, it’s not even cooked yet. I wait for condiments, utensils, and even a drink.

Getting food in college seems to be a chore. When I’m deep in the abyss of my homework, I am far too lazy to get up, walk to the dining hall, and wait. Before I know it, I have been doing homework for six hours and it’s time to go to bed, and I often forget to eat. Thus, I do not see myself - or anyone - gaining weight in college. Especially when all we do everyday is walk all over campus just to get to class.

On top of that, dining hall food is nothing compared to my family’s cooking. No matter how hard the dining hall cooks attempt to make “home-cooked” comfort food, they simply cannot compare to that of my family’s.

At home, when I’m doing homework, my mouth starts to water when I smell what’s cooking downstairs. I quickly realize I’m starving, and my parents remind me to eat the second I hear my name called to come downstairs for dinner.

I miss dinner at my house: the lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken and eggplant parmesan. I miss the chicken and steak cooked on the grill, the homemade macaroni and cheese, the fruit and vegetables with most every meal. I miss the random nights my siblings would make dessert for a school project, and we would be blessed with cookies, cakes, and pies after dinner.

At home, I eat larger portions, more often, of foods loaded with carbs - day and night. The freshman 15 might be a real thing if I was still living at home. But at school? No way.

Talk to me after Thanksgiving or after Christmas break and you may notice I have gained 15 -- or 50 -- pounds. The direct cause of that would be stuffing my face on Thanksgiving and then again throughout the entire holiday season at home.