With only two weeks left of my first semester at school, there is A LOT I can say about my experiences at the dining halls across campus. As I have another few weeks filled with meals from the dining hall, I have decided to reflect on this past semester in order to help me prevail through my next meal.

DAY 1:

It's your first meal on your own after your parents leave and you walk into the dining hall with friends for the first time. You are instantly overwhelmed with the amount of options being served and can't imagine ever getting sick of the food there. You shove your face with something from every station, and leave the dining hall full and satisfied.

END OF WEEK 1:

You are still new to campus and the meal plan and you are still discovering the many options that each dining hall has to offer. Again, you are still leaving meals satisfied and happy. Though you do not have much to complain about after that nice meal you just ate, you are starting to miss your parents' cooking.

END OF THE FIRST MONTH:

This is when you start getting sick of the dining hall. It is not that the food is bad, it is just that you unsure how many times you can continue to eat the same thing for every meal.

END OF THE SECOND MONTH:

You begin to eat more and more meals out of the dining hall. When you are eating at the dining hall, you are pretty much eating the same food for every meal. By this time in the semester, your friends can easily predict a typical "you" meal, as you can predict one of their typical meals as well.

END OF THE THIRD MONTH:

Three months of daily meals at the dining hall have gone by. You can barely scarf down each meal, as they are starting to taste worse and worse. It is not uncommon that you will find yourself going way out of your way to the "best" dining hall on campus just for a meal that you will somewhat enjoy.

FIRST TIME HOME:

You immediately hit up all of your favorite eateries from your hometown. How many times is it acceptable to eat from your favorite sushi place in one week? The limit does not exist! It is so hard to think that in a few short days, you will be leaving your go-to wrap at your local deli or your favorite meal that your parents' cook to go back to eating just bland, grilled chicken for both lunch and dinner.

LAST FEW WEEKS OF FIRST SEMESTER

This is when you start to wonder why people talk so much about the Freshmen Fifteen. As each day goes by, you dread the eating at the dining hall more and more. At each meal, you eat less and less, as you try your hardest to make it through the remaining weeks of the semester. As the last day of the semester is in sight, you try your very best to manage to scarf down the food in front of you. Thank god for this five week break from the dining hall you will have during winter break; see you soon, college food.