Day 3 required a little more restraint on my part. When I am not interning, I enjoy a part time job working in a cafe, filled with free coffee and often, free food of both the breakfast and lunch varieties. I wasn't looking forward to another coffee free morning after a late night up studying.
Slight side bar: there is not much George Washington and I have in common: my teeth aren't wooden, I have no monuments in my honor (yet), and I own not even one powdered wig. But like our first president, I cannot tell a lie: I did drink one cup of that free work coffee.Tasted like a mixture of Splenda and shame.
Joking aside, I feel badly about my minor departure. I learned the real challenge of day three has been seeing food everywhere around me and having absolutely no access to it. I watched customers throw out plentiful leftovers. I bussed their still half-filled latte glasses. I threw out a half batch of chicken salad that was deemed unservable, using all my willpower not to pack it up. I handed out the day old bagels to the food non-profit that collects them with extra pride today; I'm glad they will find their way to those that need them.
After all this painful observation, I leaned into temptation and had the coffee. My own chopped down cherry tree.
I hope you can still trust me when I say that the rest of the day I stayed with the program. For breakfast, I had my usual two slices of toast and peanut butter. Lunch was more lentil soup and popcorn. My dinner, as shown above, was a packed lunch special of PB&J, carrots and celery and a banana. When I got home from my evening class, I had the rest of the popcorn I sternly warned my roommates not to throw out.
Day three has taught me that this is doable. I feel fine for the most part; a little hungry and cranky, but no real issues. I may even have leftovers at the end of the week. If I had to live like this all the time, I could, but I know that I wouldn't want to and that no one should have to. I selfishly prefer my lifestyle as it is.
I still want to be the one throwing away leftovers, and not finishing my lattes, not the one debating on whether or not to eat a bagel off the top of the trash.
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