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Jazz up your humdrum student life -- eat more cheese
and ice cream
By Brock Anderson
September 20, 2005 | Growing up, I
loved rearranging furniture in my house. For some reason
the simple act of moving couches, tables and beds around
gave me some sort of high. I enjoyed being able to create
a fresh look in an old space. Rearranging was an outlet
for me to express myself, and was also a good way to
take a break from life's worries.
I often took the liberty to rearrange my bedroom furniture
on my own when I was young. Even as a weak 8-year-old
boy I would awkwardly try to move bulky dressers around
by myself. My goal was to rearrange my room before my
mom found out and stopped me.
To this day I still enjoy rearranging items in a room.
Unfortunately, as a college student this is a hard thing
to do for many reasons. In most college apartment living
rooms there are about two pieces of furniture that only
fit when placed a certain way inside the cubicle-sized
space. Also, in most bedrooms the beds are placed on
cinder blocks to accommodate more storage. Such an arrangement
makes moving a bed around quite difficult and discourages
the practice of rearranging.
The challenge of coming to college and not being able
to rearrange furniture has lead me to find different
ways of relieving stress and creating an environment
that I'm happy in. Like rearranging furniture, I believe
there are certain things college students can do to
make their college experience more exciting and provide
subtle changes in their lives.
One area in which college students generally need
a change is in what they eat. Usually students are too
tired or too busy to do much cooking, so they eat the
same boring things day after day. While I'm far from
being an expert, I believe I have some good advice that
might be of assistance to many students who are seeking
to change the look and taste of their monotonous meals.
I've found that eating ice cream is the perfect way
to brighten my day. While buying a nice double-scoop
cone of Aggie ice cream every day would be nice, this
practice can get rather expensive for a poor college
student's budget. Instead, I simply buy a half-gallon
carton of one of my favorite ice-cream flavors at the
store and place it in my freezer at home. This way the
refreshing, cool treat is only a few feet away when
I'm bored or I need to turn my focus away from my homework
for a minute. I only offer one word of warning: do not
buy the gigantic gallon-sized tub of ice cream! Although
this may prove to be a more economical purchase, the
gallon tub takes up a lot of freezer space, which might
cause roommates to become rather irate.
Another way in which I incorporate change amidst my
hum-drum college routine is by visiting Gossner's cheese
factory at least every other week. Upon entering the
store one will find a delectable display of free samples,
a college student's dream. These samples include milk,
cheese spreads, cheese chunks and cheese curds, more
commonly referred to as squeaky cheese. After enjoying
some delicious samples I make my way to the back where
glass doors line the walls. Behind these doors are a
variety of economy packaged cheeses that range from
the simple but reliable cheddar to the spicy but oh-so-good
pepper jack. After selecting and paying for my cheese
I leave Gossner's with food in my belly and a smile
on my face.
Speaking of cheese, every good college student should
always have cheese in the refrigerator. Now I'm not
talking about the fake, individually packaged squares
of rubber that people try and call cheese. I mean a
good block of cheese like you would find at Gossner's
or any other respectable cheese facility. Cheese can
add so much to any meal. By sprinkling it on virtually
anything, except cold cereal and ice cream, cheese will
turn a mediocre meal into a king's feast. Again, this
is just a little thing that can create big changes in
a college student's life.
College students are generally looking for a meal
that's quick and cheap. A lot of times these requirements
lead students to eat Top Ramen for every meal. While
Top Ramen is fine every now and again, it definitely
should not be a standard resource. The thing that will
provide the greatest amount of change in a college student's
life, besides finding that special someone, is a simple
invention called a sandwich maker.
Every respectable college student should possess and
regularly use a sandwich maker. It has literally changed
my life and eating habits while at college. The sandwich
maker is quick, easy and it produces a product that's
far more substantial than Top Ramen. By using some cheese
and bread I can create a fabulous grilled cheese sandwich
in just minutes. There's also the grilled tuna option,
or even the grilled tuna and cheese combination for
special occasions. Also, one of the great secrets of
the sandwich maker is the grilled peanut butter and
jelly sandwich. However disgusting it may sound, it's
truly a treat that everyone must try.
Most of my ideas are just simple suggestions, but
they truly can make dramatic differences in the lives
of the college students who try them. Recently one of
my new roommates for this semester tried the sandwich
maker for the first time. Before his introduction to
the fine machine he was unsure of his cooking ability
and often settled for Top Ramen. Now he easily uses
the sandwich maker at least once a day to create a variety
of sandwich meals.
While rearranging furniture may be the best way of
bringing change into my life, these other alternatives
work quite well and are ideal for the circumstances
of a college student. I challenge anyone to try at least
one of these ideas and see how it affects their life
and stomach. Anything that can add a little flavor to
an otherwise dull routine is worth a try.
NW
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