Everyone talks about how blessed we are to go to a school like Elon and it comes with no complaints ever. Well... maybe just one that we all know and struggle with all too well... the meal plan.
People try to maneuver their way out of it pretending to be "gluten free," "vegetarian," or coming up with some random allergy that exempts them from dealing with the meal plan all year.
As we all leave for the summer, that is one thing we most definitely will not miss. After being on the meal plan for two years I am ~blessed~ to be leaving it behind. These are some of the common struggles and phrases we used way too often when it came to the meal plan.
1. What is it?!
We all get hungry and are guilty of looking up the Elon Dining website to see what the dining halls have for food options. Honestly, half the time you only recognize the names of condiments because everything else is some random international or global dish that you have never heard of before. So you put it on your plate and examine it for a few minutes before you decide if it's something you really want to eat.
2. The Sandwich-Salad Diet
What's for dinner?! Sandwich or salad. What's for lunch?! Sandwich or salad. If you're feeling bold you might switch from Boars Head to Acorn every once and a while. But, I mean I guess the new digital ordering system is kind of innovative, but it doesn't make up for the lack of meal variety. It just gets so repetitive, is it too much to ask for a real meal?
3. Sushi? Freshii sides? Chobani? Jamba Juice? Iced Coffee?
Pretty much every food you would want... isn't on the meal plan. You walk past the fridge with delicious Sushi, or are craving a Jamba Juice smoothie, but think again because it doesn't count towards your meal plan. You have to spend extra money to get the food you actually want.
4. Unnecessary Charges
We've all had that moment when we are charged for something because we thought it counted with our meal plan. Freshman year I had to pay for a cup of iced water because I had put it in the wrong to-go cup. Or if you try to get a scoop of peanut butter with your piece of fruit---sorry you're going to probably have to pay for it.
5. *Stomach Grumble* Post Meal
Give it 15 minutes and you will either be feeling sick from whatever you eat, running to the bathroom, or simply just hungry because whatever you had was unsatisfying. So prepare yourself for the 15 minutes after your meal because you never know which of the three results it's going to be.
6. Resorting to cereal
When you reach the dining halls and explore the options, 95% of the time your end up getting cereal regardless of the time of day. It's delicious, safe, and you don't have to question where it came from.
7. Why are my eggs powdered?!
We all had that realization that the eggs we were eating are powdered... except deep down you knew they didn't taste real. Is it really hard to purchase real eggs? No wonder college students skip breakfast on a regular basis.
8. Is the chicken, chicken?
We've all questioned if the chicken we are eating is actual chicken. You tend to pick around it, find something in it that makes you concerned it isn't actually chicken, or just decide to be vegetarian while on the meal plan all together.
9. Gourmet Dessert Table
No matter what dining hall you walk into, you will never doubt the quality of the desserts. For some reason, the desserts are always above and beyond while being perfectly displayed. Half the time you talk about how you wish the meals were done the same way. The other half the time you add up how much weight you'd actually gain if you just ate dessert for every meal.
10. Swipes for everyone!
The end of the semester comes and you have been out of meal dollars for almost a month, but somehow have over 80 extra swipes to spare. Do you go an ask for 20 bagels and Acorn cookies? Get an entire Topios pizza? Most likely, those swipes are going to go into the blackhole of extra swipes that has been happening ever since the meal plan was invented.
Hey, if anything you've gotten away with using your meal plan for stealing bags of fruit or bringing your trendy freshii cup with a mixer in it out at night. Honestly, you've come this far on a meal plan, and you've found ways to make it work. There is no comparison to what you refer to as "real" food which refers to anything and everything that isn't on the meal plan. I am happy to say I am moving on from it, and will never miss it. Bless all of you who are still going to have to suffer through it.
