Candy is often sweet and satisfies the consumer instantly. As soon as the sugar hits your tongue, you are left smiling and maybe you even feel better than you did before eating the candy. The rush lasts for a small amount of time and then you are suddenly craving more.
Food, on the other hand, sustains an individual for an extended period of time. Normally, after eating a good meal, you are not left searching the cabinets or pantry for more. Your stomach feels full and you are content.
"Eye Candy VS Soul Food" is a saying I created while in my senior year of high school. As a millennial, I frequently see the differences between eye candy and soul food showing up many times during relationships. Unfortunately, this theme seems to continue in college and later in life.
When someone is seen as eye candy, it is only for limited satisfaction-- similar to the way we enjoy candy. We take the experience at face value and that is how the relationship transfers in the presence of others. When someone is simply eye candy, their partner does not appreciate everything about them. Often times these relationships fail, as they are based solely on image and nothing of a deeper level.
Eye Candy (noun): visual images that are superficially attractive and entertaining but intellectually undemanding.
The counter to eye candy would be "soul food." When looking at a significant other as soul food, you recognize that they can help push you through your most difficult times. You look to them for light in the dark and while you should always try your hardest to be enough for yourself, there is absolutely no harm in having someone by your side. They sustain you, like a hearty meal would, and you are not left searching for more. You understand that they can satisfy because you appreciate them for everything they are.
In our generation, I believe people are too focused on eye candy. "I wonder how many likes this picture of us will get on Instagram. People will see that we're happy together and they'll envy us, me." The need for constant approval from others is why eye candy is so prevalent. Take a step back from the outside world and simply delve into the heart of a person. See them for everything that they're worth and soon enough, you will find someone to be your soul food.
