Recipe videos have been plastered all over everyone's newsfeeds for about a year now, and I can't say I'm sick of them yet. What started out as a curious attempt to follow along with a video has turned into a new hobby of mine.

Being from a large Italian family, I have always loved to cook and I've had plenty of inspiration growing up, but this food was cooked for me without much contribution on my part. Living on my own has made me realize that these meals are a process requiring a decent amount of money, time, and willpower -- all things I want to contribute since I've discovered I love the process about as much as the end result.

It all started with Tasty's One-Pan Balsamic Chicken & Veggies recipe, the first recipe I knew I had to try. The results were as great as I anticipated, and I knew from then on that these videos aren't meant to be watched and forgotten about. Everyone gets a small amount of satisfaction from watching them and thinking, "Wow, that looks amazing." But actually making and eating them is a whole new level of satisfaction.

Following the success of the balsamic chicken & veggies meal, I started to save more videos (mainly from my Facebook newsfeed) with the intention of actually making them. I view almost any occasion as a reason to try a new video - BuzzFeed's Buffalo Chicken Dip and Pig's In A Pretzel Blanket for watching the Redskins with my family, Tasty's Dinner for Two: Steak & Salad for Valentine's Day (I made Center Cut Cook's Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken the next night with some of the leftover ingredients), and Delish's Super Bread Bowl Football Dip for the Super Bowl (I used Gimme Some Oven's Slow Cooker Spinach & Artichoke Dip  instead of the kale dip).

Having accumulated a lot of recipes to try, I've taken advantage of Pinterest to organize them into categories for different meals and occasions. Living on a college student budget makes gathering the ingredients for a full recipe a challenge, but I think it's totally worth it -- food brings people together. I hosted a potluck dinner party requiring everyone to choose a video recipe they had their eye on and bring it over (I made Tasty's Rigatoni Pie), and it's also a go-to activity that can definitely be used as a date or hang out idea instead of going out to eat or binging on Netflix.

Turning standard cookbook recipes into a visual process has caused an explosion of interest, and I'm absolutely someone who has fed into that. I've learned so much about cooking and about myself in the process -- the more intricate videos excite me because I like to challenge myself in the cooking process. I've learned how to substitute and change ingredients, and use what I have at home already to make a last minute dinner (which usually involves Googling whatever ingredients I have to find a recipe that sounds appetizing). I have more recipes saved to try in the future than ones I've already made, and I'm always on the lookout for more. Damn Delicious' Avocado Pasta, Tasty's Carnitas Steamed Buns, as well as their Blueberry Croissant Bake are next in the lineup.