Day 5: Friday

Friday the 13th:

I am a very superstitious person and ever since I can remember, I have always hated Friday the 13th. My bad luck began this morning when I slept through my alarm and woke up at 10:10 and barely made it in time to my 10:30 class. I'm sure I looked like a hot mess in my sweatshirt and baseball cap and bouncing backpack as I walk/jogged to class. As I ran to class I snarfed down oatmeal with banana and had a piece of stale bread with an excessive amount of peanut butter. When I finally sat down in class (a little sweaty and definitely winded) I dug through my bag for my water bottle only to realize that I had left it on my desk. My professor doesn't like when we leave the classroom, so I couldn't step outside and get water from the fountain to wash down the peanut butter that was stuck to the roof of my mouth. Safe to say I had a great start to my day.

I managed to get a pretty decent picture of my gourmet meal as I ran down the stairs to class

After class I went back to North because I desperately needed to do laundry..but of course after I had lugged my entire hamper of laundry down three flights of stairs, every machine was full..just my luck. Eventually a few machines opened up and I spent the rest of the afternoon washing my clothes and cleaning my room. As I cleaned and tried to get my life back in order, I began to notice how tired and sluggish I felt. I had slept well the night before (and even got an extra hour because I slept in), so I knew that was not the source of my grogginess. I'm starting to realize that I've been eating primarily carbs all week long, my meals have been so repetitive, and the limited choices I have to eat are not giving me the energy I need to fuel my busy days.

Later in the afternoon, around 3:00pm, Dalyan came over for a late lunch and ate pasta with Carlie and me on our (recently vacuumed) floor, and the three of us ate and talked for almost 3 hours. Obviously I was great friends with Carlie before the SNAP Challenge because we live together, but it has been really fun for us to spend time with Dalyan and get to know him better..the challenge has made the three of us become really close in the past week

Although Friday the 13th is considered to be an unlucky day, this week has shown me how incredibly lucky I really am. I am so fortunate that my problems today consisted of sleeping through my alarm, forgetting my water, and being frustrated while trying to do laundry. These aren't real "problems" -they are inconveniences, and petty nuisances. Real problems are not knowing how or when you are going to get your next meal, and I am so thankful that I have never had to worry about that. Every day I take this incredible life I have been given for granted. I to to the University of Richmond, one of the most expensive schools in the country, I have a happy, healthy, loving family, and I have always been able to afford good, healthy food. This challenge is all about seeing things from a new perspective, and after having stepped into a lifestyle so different from my own, I know I will appreciate what I have infinitely more.