I remember at my elementary school you would line up like a row of little ducks, and walk with your class to the cafeteria. It was organized and led by the teachers to make sure every one of the students got their lunch and sat down at the same table. We could sit anywhere at the table, as long as it was with our class. If the class started to act up, like throwing food, and screaming, the next day we would have a seating chart. In elementary school it was “cool” to eat lunch from the cafeteria. I never ate anything specific every day, except for dessert, I would eat the same rainbow pop-sickle, and turned my throat as cold as ice. I can still remember the exact colors top-to-bottom, red, orange, yellow, green, and purple. I never ate the bottom because I didn’t like grape flavor.

At my Middle School lunches changed a bit. You were only allowed to eat with your grade level, but now you were allowed to walk freely to the cafeteria, get your lunch and sit anywhere you wanted, as long as it was within the perimeter of the cafeteria, where the lunch monitors would keep an eye on you. By that age, I was absolutely grossed out by cafeteria lunches, so mom packed my lunch every morning. She packed the same thing every day; turkey sandwich with a little bit of mustard on wheat bread, gold fish, carrots, and chocolate pudding. Usually by lunch time, I would throw away my sandwich because it was soggy and just snack on the rest of my meal.

BAM! Now I was at High School, and I didn’t want cafeteria food or a packed lunch by my mom. By this point, we could go anywhere for lunch as long as it was on campus, like the library, out on a lawn or picnic tables out in the front of the school. Unfortunately it was the “new thing” to go off campus with an upper-classmen that could drive. Only seniors could really leave campus, but all under-classmen eventually figured out side doors like breaking out of jail just to be picked up and leave. As time goes on, lunches seem to change, and rules become less enforced. In college I’d imagine by then I’m going home for lunch, and have my mom cook me a homemade meal instead of eating out somewhere bad or packing a lunch for it to just become soggy. I’d prefer having my mom cook lunch for me over eating a pop-sickle, snacks, or takeout food for lunch.