Entirely Worth it

                After the cow, I have a memory of my mother coming home from work, but this particular day, she was holding a bag with the words "Burger King" on it, along with her work supplies. She sets down her supplies on the kitchen floor and takes a wrapped item from the paper bag. She offers me a bite and I bite into a lifetime of unhealthy but delicious meals. I remember I particularly entangled myself with the taste made by the mixture of warm melted cheese, ketchup, juicy meat, and toasted bread. I was definitely hooked.  It shouldn’t have but it became a pretty large part of my life.

                It came to the point where it was one of my favorite activities. I was just looking forward to the next time my family and I were going to go out and eat, usually after church, after school, and on Sunday nights when the family didn’t have work or school. My dad was relatively strict and had a unique temper and that often drove me to not suggest any activities for the whole family on the way home from church, school, or a relative’s home. However, when I would suggest a fast food restaurant it usually consisted of Burger King, McDonalds, Carl’s Jr., or Wendy’s. It often led to long, boring lectures on how we weren’t economically able to go eat at fast food restaurant every time we were out of the house but, in my elementary mentality, it was entirely worth it.

                Yes the food was great, but that wasn’t the only reason why I was drawn to eat out with my family as a kid. I enjoyed the time we spent as a family. The fast food lobby became an outlet for us to bond as a family and simultaneously gaining a considerable amount of weight. Sometimes it was the only time of the week my whole family was together. Some days, it was just laughs, sometimes it was just a verbal behavioral scolding but fast food restaurants were our second home. I remember on one occasion we went to a McDonalds, and I was walking back with two trays with our food and I dropped the tray with my sandwich to the floor. They had a great time poking fun at me the whole meal but it a memory that I’ll never forget. It was a fun day that day, at my expense, but a fun day none the less. So did fast food restaurants influence my childhood? Yes, they definitely did.

                Due to complications, my father moved out and every time we get together with my brothers to hang out with him and socialize is…. you guessed it. Fast food places continue to be part of my life now that I’m actually employed at one at a local Jack in the Box. Although, I am employed at a fast food restaurant I do not have the same perspective I did when I was a child. Fast food or should I say, “fat food”, is strictly for social occasions. If I have a date or a hangout with friends I’ll eat there but otherwise I find fast food places to be extremely unhealthy for one’s health. I believe once every two weeks is too much fast food for someone. It shouldn’t be part of anyone’s diet and one should be limited as much as possible. However, I do love Subway and their choices are much healthier.