Stop Complaining! Online School Means My Mom Packs My Lunch

Sure, we are doing school remotely, and our entire lives have been turned upside-down since March, but let's focus on the many positives. Okay...I'll be honest, there aren't many positives, but there is one big plus that makes the whole thing worth it. Thanks to Penn's wonderful decision to deny students on-campus housing, my mom now packs my lunch for me every day. 

As a freshman last year, I fell into the deadly trap of trying to find anything of nutritional value at one of Penn's dining halls. This year my dietary problems are solved as my mom makes sure I have the balanced lunch I need to keep me going through the day.

My mom's lunch ensures that I will get at least two fruits and veggies, a sandwich (PB&J with the crusts cut off), a glass of milk, and two Oreos. With a wide variety of fruits and veggies including carrot sticks, celery sticks, apple slices, pear slices, peach slices, and strawberries, I'm consistently, and dare I say eagerly, left guessing what's for lunch.

Beyond that, on Fridays, if I've been good, my mom will give me a Pacific Cooler Capri Sun and put a Nutella & Go (pretzels not breadsticks!) in my lunch instead of the Oreos! With so many good options rotating almost weekly based on whatever's on sale at the grocery store, it goes without saying that my mom's lunches beat dining hall food any day.

But the most important part of the nutritious and delicious lunches my mom packs for me is the special note that she writes telling me "Have a good day!" or "Smile!". These notes really help me stay motivated and focus on my super interesting online classes. At Commons, the closest thing I ever got to a special note was when someone left a Starbucks receipt at the table I was sitting at. But all that note said was "Venti Vanilla Bean Latte," which wasn't very inspiring. 

Thanks to my mom's lunches I'm living my best life. I'm not bragging or anything, but next time you say "this sucks," think of me, doing as my mom tells me to (smiling/having a good day) and sucking on the yellow straw of my Pacific Cooler Capri Sun then try complaining to somebody else.