"What was the worst thing your parents ever made you eat? What is the best meal you remember? If you were on Death Row about to be executed, what would your last meal be?" by Olivia M.

I have loved food for all of my life. Trying new, delicious foods is one of my favorite things to do, and I could talk about it for hours. However, there are also many, many foods I would never choose to eat again. It’s strange to me when something so many people like to eat just doesn’t taste very good. Coffee is an example of this; it’s bitter, tasteless, and even if you add cream or sugar it still tastes weird and a little artificial. This is why my family views me as a picky eater. They haven’t seen me try and like lots of different food, so they think that the list of things I will eat is very short, when in fact it’s the contrary. I would like to be able to find tasty foods my family does, but I just don’t, and I refuse to be a conformist. The worst thing my parents have ever made me drink is tea, the best meal I remember is a simple spaghetti and meatball dish from when I was around 4 years old, and if I had to choose a last meal, it would consist of baked macaroni and cheese, barbeque chicken, rice and lemonade.

The worst thing in my life that I’ve ever drank is tea. More specifically, apple-cinnamon tea. One day, in fourth grade, I had terrible stomach problems. I was at home with my mom and dad because this was during COVID-19 quarantine; so, I walked weakly upstairs and informed my father that I felt like I was dying inside. He thought I was being dramatic, but he still came downstairs and brewed me some apple-cinnamon tea, because he thought I would like the flavor. When he went upstairs I sat at the table by myself and tried drinking, only for the tea to burn my tongue. Then, I figured I could wait a couple minutes for it to cool down a little. The next time I tried drinking it, the tea was cool enough for me to drink, but it had a horrible flavor. I tried to persevere despite being fraught with disgust, but I had to give up because it was making my stomach feel even worse. The next thing I knew, I was bent over my toilet upstairs praying to throw up because the pain inside was so unbearable, and laying on my bathroom floor for the next hour because it hurt to sit up. This amazingly bad experience left me with an absolute abhorrence for tea, and I will never be drinking it again.

The best meal I think I've ever had was in daycare. I wasn’t sent to an actual school, but instead to a woman’s house everyday. It was a wonderful time in my life that I regret nothing of. I would go there in the mornings, get to play with toys, hang out with other children, watch movies, and be fed the best of meals. We would eat curry chicken, macaroni and cheese, fresh fruit etc. but the one meal that always really stood out to me was when the woman taking care of us would make us spaghetti and meatballs. I don’t know if there was anything really special about it, but it was so good I think I cried when I realized I would never get to eat it again. My mother still makes it for me all the time, and while it’s still one of my favorite foods, nothing will ever compare to what I had in daycare. It’s hard to tell or remember if she put any special spices in the food that made it taste so good, but whenever I ate it I felt such extreme amounts of comfort and joy; sometimes I wish I could go back to that time just to be able to taste it again. I think the woman who took care of us just put so much love and happiness into her meals that it somehow changed the taste of all of them for the better. 

If I had to choose a last meal, it would be baked macaroni and cheese, barbeque chicken, rice and lemonade. However, if I could go back in time to steal that spaghetti and meatballs to eat, I would add it to the list. I would hope I never get put on death row, but if I had to die, I would rather it be after eating all my comfort foods. I have had macaroni and cheese and barbeque chicken and rice more times in my life than I can count, and it will never get old. However, if I do manage to get sick of it before my time comes, I would just replace everything with tons of soft serve vanilla ice cream and crushed oreos for the world’s biggest oreo mcflurry. The best part is, I don’t have to worry about getting sick because i’m dying soon anyway. On the off side, I do run the risk of throwing it all up, on account of the fact that my stomach doesn’t react kindly to milk.

Overall, most of the good things I’ve eaten outweigh the bad. While I don’t consider myself a food critic, I definitely have stong opinions on certain ones. I will never be drinking tea again, if I can help it; I still personally don’t understand how people can enjoy it. My sister is becoming quite a good chef, so maybe one day my favorite food will come from her. For now though, I’m sticking to that childhood spaghetti so good I might have made it up in my head. I don’t see myself on death row, ever, but if I ever magically find a way, I hope I’m allowed a home-cooked meal. Otherwise, I might die of a brain freeze before the guards can do their job.