The dining plan is one of the parts of the "college freshman experience" along with living in the dorms. While the dining plan is convenient when you're living on campus, you quickly run out of places and foods that you want to eat. Moving off campus means moving on from the dining plan to making your own food and that is something that I am more than ready for. It's goodbye dining plan, and hello kitchen and cooking.

A large part of living off campus is cooking your own meals. Without a meal plan, this becomes a necessity. Even though cooking meals take more time than having someone make it for you, it's healthier to make your own food. The dining hall foods aren't known for being the healthiest options, especially not the ones that are most convenient. The convenience of dining halls doesn't outweigh the negatives of being on the dining plan.

One of the constraints of the dining plan is that you can only use your dining plan when the dining hall is open. There were times that when I would want to eat, the places that I wanted to be at would be closed. Dining halls can't be forced to be open all of the time, but I also know that I eat meals at weird times. Sometimes, I want dinner at 4, and other days, I don't eat until midnight. Being able to cook and eat whenever I want will be better for my lifestyle.

Even though cooking requires more work, it's a way to eat healthier. Since I'll be in charge of the foods that I'm eating, it will be easier to make healthy foods. I will be shopping more and can buy fresh foods, which means that I will be more in control of what I eat. It's easier to avoid the options that are best for you on the meal plan and to not pick the healthiest foods either because they don't look appealing or they don't fit into your swipes. Not needing to spend swipes will keep me from buying junk food that I don't need.

Even though I'll continue to have snacks, I won't need to buy a ton of extra food in order to not waste the money that's been put into it. Also, fruits and vegetables on the meal plan are more expensive than they would be in a store, so it's easier to pick something else.One of the exciting parts of living off campus is having access to a kitchen.

When I lived in the dorms, I only had access to a microwave. While there are meals that can be made in microwaves, getting materials and learning the adaptions just doesn't seem like it's worth it. Additionally, getting simple foods like pasta required going somewhere else, even though it's fairly easy to make. Being able to cook foods that I like when I want is something that I am really looking forward to being able to do.

The dining halls are very repetitive with their food options, and sometimes, they aren't the foods that you want to eat. After eating with the dining plan for two years, there are few foods that I'm really going to miss eating. While there's a convenience to having a meal plan, it is restrictive in the options of what to eat.

Cooking my own food next year will be more work, but it will be worth it. There's a certain amount of freedom to being able to cook what I want when I want. It's a step towards actually sustaining yourself, more than the meal plan is. I won't cook every meal I eat, but it will be nice to finally make the easy stuff.