Hello all! Before heading off to college, everyone will warn you about the freshman fifteen. I'm here to tell you that, yes, it's real. It's terribly, unfortunately real. But, just because there's the potential to gain weight while you're at college doesn't mean you have to. There are practical ways to avoid gaining all that weight!
However, that is not what this post is about.
This post is me, embracing the fact that, yes, I have gained weight. But, because there are so AMAZING places to eat here in Bloomington, I can't bring myself to regret it!
Here are some of the places I frequented the most that I will happily share with you.
10: Wright Dining HallLiving in Wright puts me in walking distances of one of the biggest food distributers on campus. There are options galore in this dining hall. From American-Mexican food to Stir-fry, the sheer availability of food can lead anyone to gain a few extra pounds.
9: C-StoresTo my knowledge, these ‘Convenient Stores’ are located in almost every residential area. These places are like miniature grocery stores, and have microwave meals, pudding cups, shelves of candy and chips, soda, and more food than anyone could possibly eat. C Stores also have small counters where you can order hot sandwiches or hot dogs. Overall, these are great places to go if you don’t feel like traversing a crowded dining hall.
8: Forest Dining HallNewly renovated, this dining hall has some of the best quality food on campus. Not only is the design classy, you can go and buy some of the best looking, and tasting, food, ranging from incredible meats and sandwiches to frozen yogurt. While I don’t make it a habit to go to Forest, because of the higher prices, I go as a treat and most definitely enjoy what the hall has to offer.
Collin’s dining hall was, for me, a surprising find. Food is served in an all you can eat buffet style, and is absolutely delicious. Collin’s has a lot of vegetarian and vegan options, which, while not being my favorite to eat, allow for some unique experiences. I absolutely love eating here, because it allows me to access all the fruits and vegetables I need, as well as sample some pretty awesome desserts.
6: Crimson CreameryThis is the best known ice cream shop on campus, and let me tell you, they live up to their reputation. Hidden beneath Gresham Dining Hall, these guys serve up ice cream scoops the size of baseballs to anyone who comes in. Do NOT come here without an empty stomach, and prepare for HUGE serving sizes.
This is an off campus frozen yogurt shop about five minutes from Wright Quad. It’s similar to the other fro-yo shops around Bloomington, with a toppings bar and a variety of flavors, but its proximity to campus makes it easy to walk to and fun to visit.
4: Pizza XPizza X has a mixed reputation, but personally, I love it. They have a variety of specialty pizzas, and their breadsticks are wonderful. Not only that, but they are a tad bit cheaper than other pizza places around campus.
3: Mother Bear’s Pizza
This place serves, quite literally, the best pizza I have ever had in my life. You must go there. It’s practically required. The pizza is amazing, the atmosphere is great, the delivery deals are spectacular, and the food is addicting.
This place is the best! An initially sketchy looking cookie shop just off of Kirkwood, Baked is the quintessential college craving fixer. Choose your dough, your ingredients, your icing, and the number of cookies you want, and you can pick them up or have them delivered to your dorm. With chalk walls in the store and awesome atmosphere, Baked is a fantastic place to go, and definitely one of the reasons I gained so much weight. I absolutely love it.
This is just a picture I got of the chalk walls at Baked. While you're waiting for your cookies, you can grab some chalk from a box on the wall and draw away!
1: Free Food at Nearly Every EventThis one might be cheating a bit, but I feel obligated to include it. Towards the beginning of the first semester, clubs are trying to attract as much attention as possible. What better way to appeal to a bunch of hungry, independent young adults than to offer them food? Any event you go to may be offering free pizza, free ice cream, free popsicles, or free cookies from Baked. Even as the semester goes on, clubs still tend to offer up free food. Take advantage of it! Food doesn’t always come cheap.
I'm a foodie by nature, so there may be more posts in the future about all the amazing stuff down here in Bloomington, but for now, I leave you with the top ten reasons I gained ten pounds during my first semester of college. Regardless of if you endevour to avoid all that weight, or to embrace it, like me, I hope it was enjoyable.
I can credit most of the pictures to Google Images, but the last one is, proudly, mine.
Need some more reasons? Check out these stories!