Confiscating something sensational out of an omelet

One of the biggest challenges us, university students, face is feeding ourselves, or more importantly; trying to maintain a healthy, affordable, and fairly diverse diet. But what happens when you are in the middle of the exam period, in need of several time-consuming activities with friends, or just running extremely low on that hard-earned internship salary? When all you have at home are 2 eggs, some half-eaten pretzels, and the famous Dutch tap water?

In case of a major crisis like this, I personally prefer making an omelet - nutritious, easy to make, doesn't take more than 10 minutes, and most importantly: looks aesthetic. Looks, of course that is what matters at the end.

Whenever I tell my family that I am "cooking", 6 out of 10 times I actually plan to make an omelet. A symphony of colors and textures comes into being in the pan, representing everything a student might need a day. For one, we have the eggs, nurturing animal is the chicken (dear vegan readers, I am sorry about this) - the kind of nurture that you need on a daily basis. The kind that comforts you, as if a kid hugged you, but all they could reach up to is your belly. Second, the vegetables. All those different colors represent the variation of emotions you need in your life: eat the red and yellow bell peppers and let your anger, then insane happiness take over for a second. Enjoy the zucchini and use your naivety to your advantage, and last, but not least; immerse yourself in the deep conversations that the dark color of an eggplant suggests. This omelet sounds pretty good, huh? And we haven’t even talked about the spices… Sparkle some oregano, basil, paprika, and a pinch of garlic powder, and in your mind you see the current political landscape. Think student, think, what will be your next move?

Or maybe you’d like to add some cheese on top – something to glue the meal together, like that one person in your friend group who always orchestrates your rendezvous-s, the life of the party.

Now, to answer: is it worse not being able to lift your imagination when you'd want to, and not being able to confiscate something sensational out of a simple omelet? Or is it worse to never manage to distance yourself from the brilliant dance of vegetables when what you see is merely the desperate dinner of a struggling student? Well, I guess they can both be bearable and delightful, as long as you find something to eat in your poorly-lit student housing.