College is a new arena of first impressions. Meeting new people every day while losing contact with those you surrounded yourself with in high school can be quite an overwhelming ordeal. Fitting in and finding your niche may seem like a pressing and stressful matter, but stepping back and evaluating the reality might make it a little more relaxed.

With all the new people come abounding opportunities to grow and learn. Missing out on a cool and enriching social interaction, like joining a club or community, is not a regret you want to deal with down the road.

I've found that finding comfort in unity offers some relief. All the new people you meet will be going through the same thing; the transition is nearly universal and that in itself is awesome.

While we're on the topic of first impressions, let me change it up and teach you a bit about myself and how to cook up some bomb spinach lasagna marinara.

Lasagna Marinara w/ Spinach

Budget: ($15-20)

Time: 1.5 hrs.

Feeds: 6-8 people (Feed your family/friends before you're gone! [or IDK, eat 6 servings of lasagna])

Things you will need:

• 56 oz. of Marinara Sauce (I used 2 of this Veganomicon recipe)
• 1 recipe of Almesan (also from the Veganomicon. G'Bless)
• 2* recipes of Tofu Ricotta
• 2* lbs of spinach
• salt and ground black pepper
• 1 (1-lb.) package of lasagna noodles, prepared

*I've been just fine with just one recipe of the ricotta and 1 lb. of spinach due to my lack of the two, but if you're into thick lasagna you might want to follow the recipe more precisely.

I've been whipping up grub in the kitchen since I was three years old with my ma, and it's one of my favorite pastimes. When I was ten, she finally let me use the oven alone, and I baked up a pink cake with about fifteen times more baking powder than the recipe called for. After that rock-bottom moment, I got pretty good at baking and cleaning up after myself too. Anyways, back to the lasagna.

First, prepare your Marinara Sauce, Almesan, and Tofu Ricotta. Then, preheat your oven to 375°F. Pull out a 9x13 in. casserole pan or dish, and enough foil to double-layer the top of the pan.

Wash your spinach well, drain, and place it in a steamer basket in a large pot or directly into the pot with about 2 cups of water. Cover and steam on medium-high heat for 8 minutes, until all the spinach is wilted. Afterward, transfer to a colander and let cool. Splitting the spinach in handfuls, squeeze out excess water and finely chop. Mix the spinach into your Tofu Ricotta, folding it in. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle around ½ cup of sauce into the bottom of your pan and layer with five or six prepared noodles. Avoid pressing down the noodles, as this can lead to a messy look and uneven sauciness. Add around ½ of your ricotta spinach mixture and a third of the remaining sauce, spreading evenly. Add another layer of four or five noodles, the rest of the tofu ricotta, and another ⅓ of the sauce. Top it off with the rest of the noodles, then top the noodles off with the rest of the sauce*. Sprinkle with Almesan generously before baking.

*(you can save some sauce if there is enough for serving)

Tightly wrap two overlapping sheets of foil on top of your lasagna pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes, until the edges are a little browned and the sauce bubbles.

While you wait for that to cook, you can read some more of my thoughts on college.

I was never one to worry too much about college. While many teens suffered the stress of priming their lives to somehow cater to their dream colleges presumed expectations, my ideology fell straight and simple: do good in school, do better at myself, deal with the stress healthily.

I owe it to my older brother for teaching me through his mistakes. The competition in high school is insane nowadays. The toxic stress of competing and comparing with my brother's peers led him to graduate early and attend a community college for two years before transferring to a state university.

His experience taught him (and eventually me) that it was more important to compete with himself rather than with others and to pick and choose more of his stressors. Being able to have a say in some of the things that made his school experience much healthier and taught him valuable life skills. He matured and became more independent much quicker than people I used to see him around, and typical teen troubles didn't plague him as much.

He inspired me to step back and reevaluate my attitude towards my institutional education. Through this, I came up with 2 key ideas that I stick by to this day and hope to carry with me through college.

My higher education is an investment that I'm CHOOSING

School can get expensive. College tuition and fees average between $10,000 and $35,000 a year (collegedata.com), and the decision to continue onto higher education shouldn't be compulsory. More profound and serious thought needs to be given on the topic of WHY you're going to college rather than HOW you're going to get there. The “how?" is laid out for you and everyone else in so many ways. Whether it's keeping good grades, applying for scholarships, or committing to extracurriculars, it's all there and ready to do. The “Why?" is personal to you and only you.

I' m in school because it'll help me be who I WANT to be

I'm not going to school JUST to be able to compete in a Darwinian society or JUST to get a job. I'm here to learn how to prepare myself and to grow into the person I WANT to be in the world.

I owe a huge deal of stress relief to this mindset. Growing away from the stress of competition and the stress of fitting in perfectly among all the people around you in school is an important step in your own personal growth.

Another important step: Finishing and eating your lasagna

Carefully remove the finished lasagna from the oven and allow it to rest for ten minutes. If you managed to leave any extra sauce, ladle it on and serve.

Finally, I hope your lasagna turns out fire, your feelings are a little more at ease, and your passions find their place.

Enjoy!

Image courtesy of Veganosity.com