Food. Glorious food. Wonderful, delicious food. Food has shaped my life in numerous ways. Food has been my outlet to relieving stress sometimes and sometimes it was my source of nutrition. Food plays a very important role in my everyday life, not only because I need it to survive, but also because it also puts in calming place, it really helps me relax when I’m feeling too overwhelmed or stressed. Whenever I need to just calm down and think, I eat, whether it’s just some chips and candy or a full course meal, eating something always kind of puts me in a zen state of mind. Culturally, I believe that “soul food” is considered my food. Soul Food is generally any food that originated in the south of the United States, places like Louisiana and Arkansas. Some of the common dishes are: collard greens, yams, sweet potatoes, cornbread, fried chicken and macaroni and cheese. Soul food is not just the food that my culture eats, it is pretty much like our identity, it is who we are. Most people claim that these foods are distasteful and unappealing which makes it even more special to me. It’s more of a reason to claim the food as my own. It also influences me to accept my culture more and more.
Malik Ridgell.
