We were all guilty of complaining about our dining hall when we were freshmen and saying how gross the food is and how you can’t wait to not have a meal plan and make your own food everyday. In theory it’s great, but in reality, the last thing you want to do is prepare a whole meal for yourself after a long day of classes.
The ease of walking right from the bus stop to your dining hall, or grabbing a bite in between classes, and having your choice of a fully prepared, sometimes fresh, meal is a thing of the past. Instead, you come home to your kitchen, open your fridge, and see that it’s empty and you remember that you’re broke. That dining hall that seemed so gross and unbearable now looks like heaven. Those of us without a meal plan can relate to these struggles.
1. Befriending a Freshman
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We all know freshmen are forced into getting a meal plan they never will finish and have extra guest swipes that they don’t have guests for. When that upperclassman that went to your high school hits you up and asks how college is going, they are probably secretly trying to get you to swipe them into the dining hall. And that older frat guy you think you have a thing with? Well, just wait for him to want to go on a dining hall “date” where you swipe him in.
2. Complaining About Having No Money For Food
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As a jobless college student, you will complain to your parents and friends how you never have any money for food as you scroll on your laptop online shopping for clothes.
3. Daydreaming About Takeout Night
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You’re in class late on Thursday, and you remember that Thursday night at the dining hall is wing, fries, and mashed potato night. You get a burst of excitement, but then you remember you don’t have a meal plan. When you see everyone with the takeout box, you get a wave of jealously and try to tell yourself that you can make something (or order) something better.
4. Begging Your Friends to Swipe You in on the Theme Nights
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All dining halls have that special night where they make the extra effort, like Lobster Night or Midnight Breakfast during finals. You nag your housemates and friends with meal plans to save you that guest swipe for that night. It’s the one night you are looking forward to all semester and you pray your friends save that swipe just for you.
5. Treating Your Friends Like God for Swiping You
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Anytime your friend offers to guest swipe you, it’s like a gift from God. It’s a free meal, with seemingly endless possibilities, since you haven’t been there in what seems like a lifetime ago.
6. Failing at Cooking
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We all try to cook just like our parents, but most of the time, we don’t even come close. We just end up making a mess and settling on snacks or delivery.
7. Forgetting to Go Grocery Shopping
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When you come home after a long day and all you want is a hot meal, you just stand there with the fridge open hoping whatever three course meal you’re dreaming of magically appears in your fridge. You long for food and wonder why you went grocery shopping instead of napping.
8. Going to School Events That Offer Free Food
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We are all guilty of doing laps around the food court or events for free samples. You gotta do what you gotta do to eat.
9. Eating the Same Thing Every Day
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You will end up getting into a routine of what’s convenient and cheapest. By the end of the year, you and the pizza guy will be on a first name basis.