Appreciating Life
Teachers are ever curious; in the eighth grade, students are asked to write their hobbies and career goals. I just felt much upset, wondering which decision I should make for the career; I felt foods and nutrition were normal as people interact daily, and thus, I would sound out of topic. I would like to become an individual who will help the community help people with their nutrition complications and help improve feeding habits. However, so worried, as I felt most of the classmates would judge me harshly for doing an irrelevant topic compared to what they were mentioning as their hobbies and areas of interest. Most of them mentioned working as pilots, doctors, others lawyers, and others in the UN foreign affairs and others on the internet, preventing cyber frauds.
I must appreciate that nutrition was not just a pastime; it entailed much of what I used to engage in day in day out. Indeed, it is what I got interested in since the first day in school; I study nutrition and live it. All my life revolves around this aspect; in the morning, I must ensure that breakfast is a balanced diet, similar to lunch, and the same applies to dinner. Summing up all this, ensuring physical activity and water consumption as per the medical recommendation. The hand of practice has also incorporated the community to ensure that the community lives a healthy and nutritious life through active education programs on good feeding habits. From the family level, my parents are so keen on nutrition; since toddling age, my mother has been so keen on good feeding habits, which have kept me informed on what to take and what to avoid. They have also been ready to fund all my studies and research to reach the community concerning the feeding habits of the neighbors and associated challenges.
In my initial school, nutrition was treated as a minor subject that would not be taken seriously. The schools were primarily for minorities or immigrants to the United States; therefore, I decided to shift to another school where nutrition issues were seriously taught and applied in my second year. Personally, I was a third-generation immigrant from Italy; therefore, shifting to another school was associated with adjustments challenges, but oi had no option other than copping up. Making new friends was helpful, though it was a sad experience at first, as it was all girls’ school. Fortunately, I met a good friend with the same interest in nutrition who inspired me to carry out surveys concerning community perception on nutrition. Before graduation, I launched campaigns across the school concerning good feeding habits and keeping bodies fit. It was an opportunity to share with classmates and the public the importance of healthy nutrition.
Understanding nutrition has given me confidence and comfort, making me appreciate life. More especially, appreciating the decision that I made concerning my career since primary education. Taking every life issue seriously, which is a practice that started at the age of ten when I saw a person drowning at the beach due to a careless mistake. Nutrition has never been as simple as people thought but has offered me an opportunity to engage in scientific inquiries, to gather comprehensive knowledge on healthy nutrition habits, and community engagement in this practice.
