Preparation and Cooking

By Addison Hinkle

Throughout the course of this semester, while building my creativity throughout
this class I have also had the opportunity to build creativity in my kitchen. I’ve used this
semester and this class to build my independence. I, and I think a lot of us, can be
considered guilty of taking the easy way out instead of making the decisions that will
ultimately benefit me in the long-run. I sacrifice a job done right for a job done quickly. I
think this was really illustrated to me when we built the chair project. I really used
surface-level thinking when considering what I could use to build my chair, and that
was why I was so impressed with my other classmates’ chairs. Soon after the class I
realized that the difference between my work and my classmates was a lot of hard-
work, which included preparation. Sometimes I am so excited about starting a project
that I forget to take a minute to actually plan and think about what I’m doing. I just want
the feeling of accomplishment I get when finishing a project, even though that feeling
of accomplishment would probably be even bigger with the sense of a job well done.

I am a sophomore and this is my first year living off-campus and without a meal
plan. It was nerve-racking at first trying to build an eating schedule for myself that was
affordable, healthy and fit quickly into my college lifestyle. The way I approached this
situation was kind of similar to the Kepner-Tregoe method. I was put in a situation that
was out of my comfort zone and I identified that I might have a problem affordably
feeding myself healthy meals. I took to realizing what the cause of the problem was
and it had a lot to do with the stores I shopped at and my expectations going into the
store. I went to stores that were pretty expensive, like Publix, and would walk through
every aisle without a good sense of direction. I came up with a variety of different
solutions and ended up using a small handful of them. I decided to try a cheaper
grocery store, Walmart, to buy all my groceries. I went into the store with a grocery list
and made sure I never went to the store on an empty stomach because I would be
more inclined to buy things I wouldn’t need because they seemed tasty in the moment.
I steered clear of many of the snack aisles and focused on the produce section of the
store. I would limit my grocery shopping to only once every two weeks and would have
a out-to-eat budget within those two weeks so I could be sure to eat out with my
friends if they were going somewhere.

Ultimately, my solution worked out well and I was spending a lot less money on
lots of tasty food that I considered healthy. The only risk was that sometimes it took
longer to prepare the healthy food rather than just to put the unhealthy food in the
microwave. It ultimately has ended up working out by not only help me eat healthier
and save money, but also to help me learn how to manage my time better. I use my
time cooking as a time to destress and relax throughout the day in-between
completing my schoolwork. I like cooking especially because it makes me feel
productive because I am doing something to help my hungry belly, but I can also listen
to music or an audiobook, or even call members of my family while I’m cooking.
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Throughout this semester, with a little creativity, I’ve had the opportunity to turn
something I anticipated as being awful (cooking) into one of my favorite parts of the
day. I believe with a little creativity, we can make the tasks in our life more enjoyable. I
used the proper preparation and thought process to improve my performance in
cooking, and now I need to take my learning one step further and be more cognizant of
planning in other aspects of my life. As a journalism major, I think my articles and
stories would improve so much more if I planned them out before I started writing
them. Like my cooking, I need to identify what works, what doesn’t work and how I can
improve off my previous work. I’m so glad I took this class because it is improving my
existentialism. I find myself thinking more and more about my own thoughts and why I
think about and do things. I’m learning so much about myself and how to change
different aspects in my everyday life to make me feel more fulfilled. I’m learning more
about the many different passions I have and am also developing new passions like
cooking.