Goodbye residence hall, hello apartment and being a step closer to adulthood! It must be exciting to finally move into a place with a few of your closest friends and all become responsible adults together. The older you get, the more it feels like to become a REAL adult and live responsibly.
That means cleaning, planning, and the most important, COOKING.
Everyone knows that the more years you spend in college, the higher the tuition will rise. That is why most college students tend to live off-campus or live in an on-campus apartment with a limited meal plan. And at my university, housing is only guaranteed for freshmen and sophomores. No wonder why we have so many junior and senior RAs on our campus…free housing and discounted meals!
I personally live in an on-campus apartment, but it's still super far from where the academic buildings and dining halls are. Plus, the usual meal plan that I used during my underclassmen meals is ridiculously expensive. This is why most upperclassmen either get a limited meal plan or strictly cook. Thankfully, I have one of the cheaper meal plans, but I still have to cook my meals. No one wants to walk to the other side of campus just to get a sandwich.
For that reason, I am actually spending the majority of my time making home-cooked meals for the week trying to survive. Cooking back at home seemed easy, but that's because you're not the one buying the groceries. Now that you have to buy your own food, you have to learn about time-management, portion control, budgeting your money for groceries, and keeping your sanity.
I am sure not everyone living in an apartment without a full meal plan is adjusting. Listen, I get it. No one has the time to stand over a stove all day and cook, or has the money to buy excess groceries. Our schedules are pretty busy and that's okay.
Oh, but then again, if you are one of those people who absolutely can't cook by now, you aren't going to survive.
You better turn on the Food Network Channel or watch Buzzfeed Tastyvideos, or your life will plummet before your eyes.
But I know you're still probably asking yourself, "How the hell am I going to survive? I can cook, but I'm kind of lazy." Trust me, you probably aren't the only one having these thoughts. I mean, unless your family is rich and paying for you to live in a fancy on-campus apartment and a FULL meal plan. Some thoughts that constantly cross your mind may be:
1. “Wait, let me check my bank account first.”
Of course! The common phrase used by a typical upperclassman college student. In your junior and senior years, you're always going out and you're always having to spend your own money on groceries. Checking your bank account not only reminds you of how broke you are, but it also reminds you that you really don't need that. The sad part is we can blow off $100 in just a week, but we can live off of $10 for 3 weeks.
2. *Opens fridge full of food* “Damn, I have NOTHING to eat.”
You may think the opposite, but if you like to eat a lot (pretty much ME), your fridge will appear as if you should have bought more longer-lasting items. Also, if you are living with roommates, you might see what type of groceries they have and feel like you ended up forgetting to buy that at the store. I do it a lot. No, this doesn't mean that you always have to compare yourself, but if you notice you are always asking your roommate if you can have some of her eggs, it's time to buy your own, sis.
As for advice, ONLY buy things you KNOW you're going to eat, and not buying things because you're supposed to have it. (Try to remember the things that you always ate at home.)
3. Being hungry 24/7 but you don’t want to get up and cook.
Especially if you have meat and other fresh produce that you can't just warm up in the microwave. What helped me is that I would buy some frozen meals that won't go bad, just so they'll be ready in minutes.
4. Taking pictures of food you cooked just to show your parents that you are a “responsible adult."
Don't lie, we're all a little proud of what we cooked. Having our parent's approval shows them they have nothing to worry about and they can feel proud that their child is an "adult." But secretly, we're dying inside because we all know that deep down your roommate was the one who actually cooked.
5. “I can’t do this, I’m eating out.”
*Opens fridge, closes fridge, logs onto Grubhub.*
6. “What the hell am I going to eat today.”
Figuring out what you're going to eat today is actually the worst feeling ever, because you're stuck between cooking and not wanting to spend money.
7. “Nope, I’m not cooking,” *Whips out the Instant Ramen Noodles*
No one wants to stand over a stove all day and have to worry about whether or not you're going to burn the house down. Plus, cooking is time-consuming, so you're conflicted about what to do. Ramen always solves problems.
8. “I AM BROKE.”
Says every college student ever…
9. *Makes ONE thing right and instantly thinks they’re a Top Chef*
Honestly, when I started living in an apartment, I was cooking things that I've never cooked before and started putting my dishes on Snapchat to make people jealous. I really thought I was Betty Crocker when I made my rice successfully.
10. “Look at me being an adult.”
Being an adult is hard and if you're happy, celebrate that sh**.
11. “Damn, I have to wash all of those dishes?”
The thing about making a successful dinner is that you have to clean up your mess at the end. This is the worst, especially when you're full and start to become lazy. The number of dishes just pile up, and nobody wants to scrub grease and burnt stuff off of a frying pan. A tip is to wash one dish at a time while things are baking in the oven or being fried. It saves you time and complaints.
12. “Yeah, this is NOT how my mom used to make this.”
You ever wanted to recreate what your mom made, and you have the directions and all but it still turns out like a load of s***? Yeah, many times. Sometimes I have been successful and other times, I just gave up. (Your mom will be proud of you, by the way, if you tell her what seasoning you used. She'll think that you're a top chef.)
13. Always asking one of your roommates, “Hey can I borrow _______?”
If you see yourself always doing this, just get some for your own unless you want to be known as THAT roommate. It's always nice to have a roommate who has something when you need it at the moment, but GIRL, don't let this be an everyday thing or your roommate is going to hate you.
14. Feeling like you wasted money on cooking items that you will never even use.
"I HAVE TO HAVE THAT CHEESE GRATER!" Then months go by after buying it and you wasted $10 for nothing. People just go out and buy shredded cheese now, girl.
15. “Why is this so expensive?”
This is when you start acting like your mom or dad and start comparing prices of other stores. "Ooh, $5? I can get the same thing for $1.98 at Walmart!" Yes, you start to become THAT shopper.
16. “Now I know how my mom feels when she buys groceries for the house.”
Remember, your mom is always buying groceries for the family. She probably hates the things that you like and feels like she is wasting her money, but she always puts you first. Imagine not wanting to spend money on your own groceries but your mom does it for a living…THANK HER.
