I was born in 1998 and grew up in the throws of the early 2000's. Limited too (not Justice) was my favorite store, Lizzie Mcguire was my favorite show, I thought I would marry Jesse McCartney or Nick Jonas (still holding onto this one) and playing on my Nintendo DS was my favorite activity. While cleaning out my room and with a little inspiration from a friend that recently dug out her DS, I decided to break out this bad boy and play an old favorite: Cooking Mama. 

Trial 1: Pizza

cake, pizza
Blair Baker

As I hadn't played this game since I was deep into the pre-teen years, I decided to choose a recipe that would be fairly easy, pizza.

coffee, tea, cheese, cake
Blair Baker

Things were going well as Cooking Mama, herself, handed me gold medal after gold medal with only one silver medal. If this was the Olympics, I would be on Micheal Phelps' tail. Alas, my pizza was ready. 

pizza
Blair Baker

Alas, after all my hard work, I received a measly 87 points. My over-achiever self refused to settle for a B+ on what should have been an easy task. My 12-year-old self shook her head with disappointment. 

Trail 2: Shrimp Tempura

beer, coffee, pizza
Blair Baker

Maybe I had the wrong tactic, easy recipes may not be so easy. This time I went for something a little more tricky: Shrimp Tempura. I had never made this dish is real life before, but was willing to risk it. It was now or never. 

After de-scaling some creepy, pixelized shrimp, I waited for Cooking Mama's final judgment. 

Blair Baker

Things seemed to be looking up as Cooking Mama beamed with pride and I received a 90. Although I felt pride that I had reached A-, I refused to settle until I received a 100. 

Trial 3: Ramen

coffee, cake, tea
Blair Baker

In a final attempt to prove that I could cook, I went for a true college student meal, Ramen. Although this was the ultimate cop out, I was determined for that gold medal. 

coffee, tea, pizza, beer, cake
Blair Baker

Cooking Mama's fiery eyes cast a shadow of shame. How could I face my family after this? Before I admitted complete failure, I gave ramen one more try. 

tea, beans, coffee
Blair Baker

Could it be? I finally received complete success. I had reached ultimate success. I had finally redeemed myself. 

With a gold medal finally hanging around my neck, I decided to quit while I was ahead. I hung up my apron and closed my NintendoDS, only to be opened another day (next time I'll stick to Nintendogs and animal crossing).