Recently, my roommate enjoyed her 21st birthday with friends and family. Typically, food is associated with extravagant celebrations, but it wasn’t until I shared this social experience with her that I realized how highly college students value outside food. I challenged myself to observe food habits surrounding a birthday celebration and consider the purposes for each food related act. Why is food so important in the celebration of a students birthday? Food served three purposes in this context: the first was to apply the culturally embedded practice of cake eating, the second was to create a social experience, and the third was a reflection of student values through gift giving.
Roommate blowing out candles
After the cake was eaten and gifts were given, it became very clear to me what college students value most. In front of my roommate sat a pile of chips, avocados, cookies, dipping sauces, crackers, cheeses and fruits. The only non-food items were given by her parents. As students of the meal plan, we are given a series of foods, day to day, that may not reflect the kinds of meals that we grew up on. “Comfort foods” such as cheese, crackers and chips that are not available in the dining halls are clearly important to the students of Wheaton College, because each guest individually chose food products to give as gifts. When my roommate asked her friends “how did you know I wanted this?” all of their responses expressed that if the roles were reversed, this is the gift that they would like to receive while living on campus. In another context, for example a birthday celebrated at home, gifts might vary to include more standard presents such as clothes, (like her parents got her) electronics, supplies and other products. The gifts that were exchanged reflected the values of Wheaton College students.
Social experiences, symbols of celebration and expression of values through gift giving were all reflected in the evening of my roommates 21st birthday, and clarified for me why food is so central to this celebration, especially for a college student.
No comments:
Post a Comment