why I think you should eat more ramen.

9:46 PM

This is for the Senior Psychology majors who seem to know everything about people, but little about themselves. The ones who are wishing they had majored in pre-med, so that the paper they receive on graduation day would inevitably lead somewhere. And also to the students who hate being told that they will “go far” because it assumes a responsibility to do just that. Maybe this is for you.

I have been feeling a little out of place in my Psychology classes lately, because as my peers are filling out grad school applications, taking clinical internships and studying for the GRE; I’m still trying to figure out where I fit in Freud’s Psychosocial stages. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have learned a lot in my 4 years here. The Psychology program is phenomenal and my teachers have painted an educational experience that still keeps me coming to class, despite severe senioritis. But on Monday, I will walk into my last advising appointment of my college career and still not be able to claim a future. 

There’s this unspoken cultural pressure to have it figured out by when you graduate. But if you’re reading this and nodding your head, you know just like me that sometimes life doesn’t work like that. You know that the next step isn’t always paved in the stepping stone in front of you but its wet pavement waiting for you to make an indent. I’ve battled it. I’ve fought hard, prayed hard, looked around me for direction. And all I can offer you is this; eat more ramen. 

When I left for college, I was told that ramen would become my best friend. And for an organically grown girl like myself, you can imagine that this sounded quite unappealing. But now I find myself, four years later, holding on to this food group tightly. Because forever it will remind me of the time that all I could afford and all I had time for was that awkward clump of dried noodles. While the college life is typically depicted as chasing boys and guzzling on 12 packs of natty light, I’m eternally single and the only 12 pack in my house is of Maruchan Ramen. A week full of ramen is a good week. It means that my schedule was so full of community, intramural games, fundraising events and life that the only time to check instagram was on the toilet and the only time I was able to breathe was when waiting for the water to boil.

So here I am ranting about asian noodles, and you’re like, “and the point is...?” So here’s where it connects. My mistake is that I have been trying to figure out how to set myself up to afford something other than ramen, when I realized that ramen isn’t that bad. In fact, it might just sustain me longer than this year. Perhaps there are years of travel and odd jobs and exhausting myself in different facets before settling down to a life of gourmet food. And that isn't something to be ashamed of.

If you are that Senior Psychology major, or just a senior for that matter; don’t put away the ramen just yet. Live your busy out like a champ, and don’t expect to stop once you graduate. If you do it for too long, your body might just catch up with the MSG, but for now, run yourself ragged. We have a ways to go before life gets too classy for ramen.


PS: Nothing keeps you young like a good ol' pumpkin patch. I got to spend the weekend with my roommates family in the Chicago area. Blessings all around, praise the Lord for Fall Break





You Might Also Like

0 comments