Julian Rocha/The Hofstra Chronicle
College is a time when many people first learn how to be an adult. Whether it’s coming up with the money to pay rent, entering a relationship without having to worry about a curfew or looking for jobs or internships, the transition into adulthood constantly introduces many challenges.
However, there are plenty of methods of alleviating this stress. One outlet that I have found helpful over the past few months is cooking. Uprooting my entire life and moving over 250 miles away from home has made me feel out of control, but cooking gives me a sense of control for the 30 or so minutes that I don an imaginary (for now) white apron.
As with any task, the most difficult part of cooking is getting started. At an early age, I knew better than to act recklessly in the kitchen, but when I reached a height where I could see over the stovetop, I remained reluctant to cook anything on my own. Turning a pile of ingredients into a meal seemed impossible, yet I kept an eye out to pick up techniques. When my mom would cook dinner, I would often watch her, occasionally stirring and chopping when asked.
Before moving into my dorm last fall, my mom took me shopping, where I was able to pick up some cookware, only for it to collect dust for the first few months of the school year. However, at some point, I grew tired of eating campus food every single day and felt compelled to switch things up. As a freshman, I had foolishly ordered DoorDash more times than I should have, and I knew better than to repeat those mistakes. While at the supermarket looking for cookie dough at the beginning of this semester, I ended up browsing the pasta aisle, where the neatly arranged boxes of pasta and jars of sauce caught my eye.
It’s not at all hard for me to wolf down pasta when it is put in front of me, so how hard could it be to make? Boiling water is easy, and the pasta has detailed instructions on cooking the noodles, so it seemed like a walk in the park. Once I returned to my dorm, I lugged all my cookware down to the kitchen and proceeded to disregard all the suggested measurements. Only a minute or two after adding the pasta to boiling water, the pot began to overflow as a result of my overly ambitious eyeballing. After about half an hour of trial and error, I finally managed to cook the noodles and add the sauce, amounting to the first meal (other than a sandwich) that I had ever cooked on my own.
Since my first daunting attempt at cooking pasta, the kitchen has gone from a place where I stand back and observe to one where I create something uniquely mine, expanding beyond the horizons of canned soup and cold sandwiches. Cooking is a way to let out my stresses of the day and be in full control of what is happening, albeit for a very short time. Cooking is not for everyone, as it takes time to buy the ingredients, cook and eat the food and wash dishes. Even if busying yourself in the kitchen isn’t appealing, there are plenty of other productive ways for students to alleviate stress, such as writing or enjoying the rapidly approaching spring weather. College is tough on everyone, but finding what puts your mind at ease makes each day much more enjoyable.
