I graduated from college about two months ago. I never thought it would be the case, but it seems that the biggest change in my life so far had to do with my three meals a day.
When I lived at home, I never even stepped into the kitchen. My mother often chided me about my lack of cooking talent, along with my various efforts to shirk chores, lack of traditional Chinese feminine charms, and countless other defects. “Why can’t you just be more like me?” She would often sigh. “I’ve never heard that the ability to cook and do house chores is genetic.” The teenager in me, of course, never failed to prepare some kind of comeback for her.
Then, I went to college. Thanks to the prepaid meal plan system and a dearth of kitchens in Harvard dorms, I continued to live a life sheltered from cooking. At that time, I still never thought that I would ever cook. I did not even know how to boil water, and I thought that was fine. I even thought that only housewives need to know how to cook. I was too naïve. Only after I graduated, I figured out the truth, that is, in order to survive, I needed to learn how to cook. It’s not about being womanly or feminine. It’s not even about saving money (though that is really a big incentive to cook by myself instead of eating out). In the end, it’s about living an independent and healthy lifestyle.
After two months out of college, living in an apartment with a kitchen, I discovered that cooking my own food is usually more sanitary, healthier, and sometimes even tastier than restaurant food, for I know my taste buds better than anyone else. Even more shockingly, I discovered that I enjoy cooking. It is kind of like mixing stuff, letting time pass, and getting results in a chemistry lab. It is also similar to creating a piece of art (only you destroy it by stomaching it).
Cooking and serving food to friends and loved ones comes with a great sense of accomplishment as well, one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had really. It is regrettable that my family does not live in the states, so I have never prepared them a proper meal yet. But I can’t wait to do that once I go visit them in China. Meanwhile, I’m improving my skills by cooking for my fiancé every day, which turns out to be a lot of fun as well, since he often tells me how good my food is and how talented I am (hopefully he isn’t just saying that just to avoid the fury of my big metal soup spoon).
Anyway, even now, this change in me still astonishes me from time to time, though I’ve definitely realized that cooking is a really useful set of skills to have. This is not to say that you should cook on a daily basis, but rather, know how to do it when the situation requires it. Finally, I really believe that anyone can cook, just like how the cute little mouse says in “Ratatouille”.