The smell of soy milk and dumplings slipping into my room through the slight opening of my window was my most vivid and appetizing memory of breakfast in childhood. Back then it was typical Beijing Hutong breakies peddled by street vendors every 6 AM sharp. Their trishaws were always stuffed with barrels of soy milk, large pans constantly heated to make Beijing pan rolls, and giant pots filled with tea-boiled eggs.

The smell itself announces a new day’s arrival. While walking towards the dining table every morning, I would expect full refill of energy in my body and then get to school under bright sunlight with a smile of satisfaction on my face.

Breakfast is something I’d never want to give up all my life, for the whole reason that every breakfast I have brings out a perfect day for me. It did when I was a carefree kid, and it still does when I begin to taste all the pressure and anxiety as I newly joined the adult club. For now, I can think of 8 reasons why, but as I live my life, the list will get longer.

1. Fill your empty stomach

Of course.

It is said that humans burn over 600 calories during a 6-hour sleep, so it is important for us humans to supplement this energy gap with food in the morning.

But even if I don’t mention the statistics, you would never find it hard to feel how empty your stomach is and how torturous when you go to work with this empty stomach pain.

That’s the first reason why breakfast brings out a perfect day: it fills your empty stomach so that you can start your day with fulfillment in both your belly and your mind.

2. Nutrients

This one is also indisputable. Carbs in cereal, protein in eggs and milk, fat in oil and butter, and fiber in vegetables, with a stomach full of these in the morning, you will not only have all the energy you need for a lively day, but everything you could ask for a healthy body as well.

3. Push you into having a healthy biological clock

Through the years, like everyone else, I’ve become busier. School started earlier, workloads began to crash down onto my shoulders. I began to stay up late and wake up 10 minutes before my first class, then crumble straight from my bed to my desk in the classroom. I thought I would never have that kind of time and patience to finish a proper breakfast in the morning.

I felt a lot weaker physically. I saw black eyes and wrinkles on my face in front of the mirror, and I began to feel difficult trying to concentrate and memorize things. I felt like my brain had run out all the oxygen.

I then tried to recall how I can enjoy myself through simply get up early and have some dumplings before I go to school and deal with all the heavy school works. I forced myself to finish works early in the evening and go to bed early so that every morning I woke up and I could see the tender morning sunshine again. Sitting down under the sunlight coming from the east side of the house and treat myself with some pancakes would take less than half an hour, but I felt a lot better physically since then, and therefore the elevation of my life quality.

4. Slow down the pace of your life

With a healthy biological clock, it is not hard to gain a gentle pace of your life. We live in a very fast society and everything seems like being rushed to get done. Sometimes people are too eager to get on with their lives, they forget to savor it. Sometimes we simply forget to slow down a bit, or pulse, and sit down with food in front of us, take a deep breath, and see how marvelous life is.

That's what breakfast bring us: an opportunity to slow down the pace of our lives.

5. Make time for you to be with your family

I’ve always enjoyed the short amount of time when our family gather by the table, chatting casually while passing salt and vinegar to one another. This is such a quality time that can bring you a good mood through the whole day.

6. Keeps you fit in a healthy way

Nowadays, it is trendy for girls to eat less and keep fit. Some girls go to the extreme and simply skip one meal or two in order to slim down.

Well, science tells us that even if you want to skip a meal, breakfast is certainly not the one you want to miss. your body needs most energy in the morning, and if it is not provided by the nutrition you insert from food, your body would automatically shrink your muscles and lower down your metabolism to protect itself. That way you would not only get weaker but also more easily to gain as you eat your later meals.

So, if you want to eat less, try to control the amount of food in your other meals, but definitely not your breakfast.

7. Clear your mind

Yes. A friend once told me that he had this meditative moment while peeling an egg in the morning. This small fact interested me and I started trying to feel how my mind works while enjoying my meal in the morning. Morning can be the very best period of time in a day for meditation, and simply enjoying a proper breakfast without anything on your mind is sometimes a very enjoyable way of meditation. Clearing your mind in the morning, proved by generations of people, is the best start of a day.

8. Learn more, enrich your life

Last of all, breakfast food is always a big part of a nation’s splendid food culture.

When I grew older I learned how to cook, and making my own breakfasts every day became an enjoyable endeavor. I also love to travel, and along with my trips I get to taste various types of breakfast food, and I taste the rich history and personalities of a nation from the spices they use that bring out different flavors.

Other than traditional Beijing breakfast foods that my stomach has been familiar with, I learned how to make french toasts and pancakes, frittatas and omelets, and other exotic dishes from Turkey, Thailand, Spain and other regions, and as I eat, I gradually learned stories about the foods along with their own unique food culture.

Nothing can stop me from being an avid breakfast enthusiast. I would like to think breakfast as more than just a meal to fill one's belly, but also a pleasing treat that enhances one's lifestyle.