I used to have a pretty bad relationship with food. Back when we were in school, it was never a big priority in my life. It was solely there to fill me up and give me energy. I would only eat when it was convenient but I wouldn’t eat as often as I should’ve.

In the morning, I would wake up barely in time for school. I would run out of the house with my breakfast in hand and gulp it up on the quick 5 minute drive to school. By the time I’d gotten to school, I barely made it to class before the 8:00 bell. I was often late but my teacher didn’t mind (thankfully). Throughout the day, I would experience an energy deficiency. I would barely be able to make it through the whole school day without being exhausted.

I would never eat lunch at school. Besides the fact that school food was disgusting, I preferred eating home food after school way more. I rarely brought a snack unless I stayed after school for practice at 4. I never brought a lunch to school because it wasn’t a primary concern. Since I went home after 5th period, it would be convenient for me to starve myself until I got home from school.

On 4 pm practice days, my eating schedule would be like this: small breakfast in the morning, snack after school (2 or 3 pm), an actual meal after practice (6 pm), and I was done for the day. I would go to bible class right after I ate and showered. Until about 8:45 when I got home, I would be so exhausted from the day but I still had homework to finish and right after, I crashed. On other days, with practice a little later, I would have the small breakfast, then come home for a huge meal hours before practice. That’s all I had for the day.

Essentially, I hardly ate. Writing about this now has made me realize how bad things actually were.

Ever since quarantine, I’ve learned to take care of myself more. I began to prioritize what I put in my body, when, and why. Since we’re at home all day, I don’t put myself on that strict starving regimen anymore. I spend a lot more time making my breakfast (and other food) instead of grabbing something quick like cereal. Throughout the day, I’m able to eat comfortably over a consistent amount of time.

Here are some pictures of the foods I’ve made.