This year I have had the awesome privilege of living off campus with some of my closest friends. We have tons of space, plenty of food options and the freedom of being on our own. However, it has come to my attention that I was a far healthier person living on campus than I have been living in my off-campus house.

When my friends and I looked at houses last year, one of our few requirements was a nice kitchen. After three years of living in dorms and having to carry all our supplies to the dorm kitchen every time we wanted to make our own cookies, we were so excited to move on. Now that we have the kitchen, we are occasionally able to make some of the food ideas we pinned on Pinterest, but more often than not, there is only time for it on the weekends. While it sounds like a great idea to be able to take advantage of having a kitchen and make your own delicious food, it takes a lot of time and effort which as a Trinity student I just do not have.

While it would be cost efficient to bring a healthy lunch, it is far easier to run into Coates and grab one of their delicious sandwiches. And while I never thought I would say this, I really miss Mabee. The food in there is actually pretty great (I hear I am missing out on the newly improved pasta line) and I used to love sitting with all my friends at dinner and catching up.

These days, I often find myself eating a brownie or cookie for breakfast (if I have anything at all), just because it’s quick and easy. Talk about an easy way to gain the “senior fifteen.”

It is easy to see I was much healthier while I still lived at Trinity. So here’s a new perspective to consider next time you are upset that Mabee is not serving your favorite meal: it is convenient, it is easy and, at least to this senior, the healthy food they serve is looking pretty great.