Before college, I never realized how much I took eating for granted. Cereal for breakfast after somehow managing to wake up at 7 every day, lunch provided by my school, dinner cooked by mom, for years and years. But once I got to UCLA, with a hectic class and sleeping schedule, not to mention suddenly having to fend for myself, things become more complicated. I’ve learned that I’ve really just been experiencing the universal Bruin life cycle of food. Everyone is at one of these stages.
1. You discover dining hall food
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Internal (possibly external) dialog: “Oh that looks good.” “Oh that too.” “Oh baby.” “Buffet style?” “Nomomomomom.”
2. You discover Westwood food
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There are so many good food options in Westwood that I couldn’t possibly list them all here. But I can here, here, and here.
3.You get fat
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It turns out that dropping all those high school sports and eating a ton of food may have some unexpected consequences.
4. You get bored
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As great as the dining halls and Westwood are, there are a lot of days you need to eat. Eventually, even the most exciting places, while still delicious, are boring.
5. You explore the LA food scene
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You finally decide to check out some Spoon articles that list all the best restaurants in LA and realize there is a huge culinary world just outside the “Westwood bubble.”
6. You try many exotic restaurants
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Again, the Los Angeles food scene is world renowned. You find out what it truly means to be in love with food.
7. You run out of money
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No explanation necessary. Fortunately there are some great deals in Westwood that will get you by.
8. You learn to cook
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After watching the masters, you figure it can’t be so hard.
9. You get pretty good at it
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After a few mishaps, you learn to cook things without burning them. That’s a job well done.
10. But cooking takes a lot of time, and sometimes you just get lazy
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Some days, you just can’t summon the energy to cook anything. So you pop open a bag of processed food and count on the dark magic of youth to sustain you. But that’s kind of gross. If only there was a nearby buffet…
11. You decide to go to a dining hall
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