As university deadlines and acceptances drew closer, so did the realization that in a few months I would be alone in a different city, country, and continent. As I spoke about in a previous blog post, I found myself making an effort to become more independent to ensure that my transition into university would be as easy as possible.
I attempted to identify certain challenges that I would face, and then through my initiative and planning, I was determined to turn these challenges into skills that would give me strength and allow me to grow whilst in university. When speaking with my older sister, her friends, and my friends that went off to university, they all mentioned that they wished they had obtained certain lifestyle skills before heading off to college. With the amount of work they had academically, they remarked that the majority of their effort went in to honing their academic ability, and their lack of homemaking skills hindered both their academic and mental wellbeing. Therefore, I decided to focus on the lifestyle aspect of college.
As a South Asian, food is an essential and crucial aspect of my culture. In both Sri Lanka, where I’m from and currently live, and Singapore, where I used to live, food is prominent in both cultural festivals and everyday life. As spoke with my older sisters and my friends who went off to college, they all mentioned how living off instant noodles wasn’t the best thing both mentally and physically. They told me that in retrospect, simple things such as a nice, home-cooked meal could have, and would have, drastically improved their college experience. While a few of them rightly pointed out that while in university there is hardly enough time to cook a three-course meal, all of them talked about the therapeutic aspect of cooking. For them, it was a way to wind down after a stressful day and let their minds wander. One of my friends talked about how she liked to brainstorm and plan for her essays while she cooked.
With this information, I took it upon myself to teach myself different styles of dishes to make my college journey less stressful. I started off by learning a few comfort dishes that I knew I would gravitate towards. These would be essential for those late nights, so instead of tearing into a noodle packet, I could quickly whip something up that would be much healthier for me. It would also be great to make these comfort dishes on nights I wasn’t feeling the best, something to lighten my spirits.
Later, once I felt confident, I moved on to more complex dishes. My friends mentioned that in college when sharing a room and a kitchen, food can be a great way to help you make friends and share your cultures. I made a few slightly more complicated dishes that I would love to make with friends in an effort to get to know each other better, and just as a general activity to do together.
With my newfound skill, I also took it upon myself to show my thankfulness to my parents by cooking meals for them. In a lot of Asian cultures, the act of hosting and feeding is a sign of respect and appreciation. As I took my steps entering into higher education, it was important to me that I show my parents how much they mean to me and how grateful I am to them to provide me with these opportunities