Ever since I was a wee little girl, I've been the pickiest eater. Vegetables? Never! Wheat bread and fruits other than grapes and bananas were also solid no-gos. I ate from quite the selective group of foods, aka basically all carbs, and nothing has changed 20 years later. My diet is that of my five-year-old self, and I get mocked for it on the regular by family and friends.

I feel like I should be more willing to try new foods now that I'm an adult. My friends enjoy cute salads and have veggies with every meal, living their absolute healthiest life, while I still overload on eggs and grilled cheese. I can look at the things they eat, and it revolts me, yet I know that sooner or later I have to learn how to eat foods that normal people eat.

I love the dining halls at my school, because there is always an option for me to eat, even if it's just an English muffin with peanut butter and jelly, at least it's something and I don't have to starve. I complain a lot about the food I eat at school, and the only reason I complain so much is that the options aren't something someone so picky like me can enjoy. At least half the time I go to the dining hall, I either love what they are serving for the night or hate it, there's never really any in-between.

The staff at the dining halls on campus deserve the recognition they deserve from all students for the hard work they put into making us our meals, yet I'm so picky I hardly remember to step back and realize just how much goes into feeding an entire campus. They make me all the foods this picky eater loves and I need to be more grateful, instead of complaining that they didn't make stuffed shells as I wanted them to.

I've thought about my health a lot recently. I do not want to become unhealthy due to my poor eating choices. I want to eat healthily so I can show my children how to eat healthily. I am going to slowly start making myself try new things at the dining hall, whether it's a whole meal or just a small aspect of it. Every step counts, and the only way to expand my pallet is by actively making an effort to.

When I'm thirty years old, I want to be able to look back on my twenties and laugh at how picky I used to be. I do not want to be that age and still be as picky as I am now, because that would be not only embarrassing but dangerous to my health. I hope to prove my friends and family wrong and become the more diverse in what I eat than they would ever expect from me.