Showing Affection Through Food

As a sophomore at Wheaton, I would like to think I am fully transitioned into college life and all that comes with it. I love almost everything about Wheaton, but there are one or two areas I would improve on if given the chance, and one of those areas is food. I have seen many people express this opinion in their blog posts, so I am obviously not the only one who constantly craves a home cooked meal. I think the reason the transition was especially hard for me freshman year due to my family background.

Most of my family grew up in Italy, and we are extremely stereotypically Italian. We are loud to the point of being obnoxious and occasionally rude and overbearing, but we also have a very specific way of showing love towards each other: through food. My memories of my grandmother start at a very young age, and are almost all associated with food. She let me help her cook, and always made me try her homemade sauce before serving it. She made it a fun experience for my cousins and me (letting us lick the spoon) and always kept us extremely well fed. To this day, visiting her means everyone running around the kitchen, chatting and yelling at each other lovingly (and usually gaining a few pounds). She never stops asking me if I’m hungry, and will always pester me until I eat something, constantly exclaiming "You look so skinny!"  Although I only see her about once a year, my mother has carried on her tradition of homemade Italian cooking.

Chapter two of FCR talked a little bit about comfort foods often being from your childhood, something that reminds you of home. I've experienced this concept here at Wheaton, because whenever I feel like getting off campus and going out to eat, I crave spaghetti and meatballs, pizza, and lasagna. I love my life here but am always counting down the days until I can walk into my house and smell wonderful Italian cooking.