You’re submitting your last assignment on Carmen. Done. As you shut your laptop and begin getting ready for bed, your phone alerts you about the COVID test you took three days ago. You’ve remained negative for months now, so you ignore the email and decide to check in the morning. A second notification catches your attention, but this time it’s not from Vault Health. The screen glows and screams your name. Your eyes stare in confusion. Your heart drops. Contact Tracing Team has a message for you.
Many consider the stay at quarantine or isolation housing to symbolize a low point, being surrounded by complete strangers for ten days or being alone for fourteen. To avoid getting family members sick, I chose university housing over moving back home; my dilemma, however, was not about to be the walk of shame to Houck or lack of fresh air, but rather what I would be eating as a vegan.
Not eating meat in college in tricky; having to handle a diet while in confinement seemed nearly impossible. I called the front desk of the isolation dorm to let them know about my dietary needs and they referred me to Dining Services. For students who don’t eat meat, they bring up the exact same brown bag that the other food is brought in, but with plant-based meals. Until that happened, however, I decided to munch on two bags of potato chips and wash them down with distilled water.
I felt like I was fifteen again.
Younger me discovered vegetarianism/veganism as a trend that helped my skin and made me feel good. My naivety, however, drew me down a path of caution whenever I was presented with food: avoiding animal products at all costs, not letting anyone make me dinner (which is why now I know how to cook), and even calling sugar companies to make sure the sugar I ate was not refined through animal bones.
I was obsessed with what I put into my body.
As time went on, I became much more lenient with my relationship with food, which helped me better navigate social scenes with ease due to my rulebook filled with more lax policies. Eventually, Dining Services generously delivered me food such as soy milk for cereal, granola bars, grapes and pineapple, and dinners that included plant-based meat. There was clearly thought that went into these meals, and I want to thank Dining Services for making my journey in isolation as pleasant as it could be.
If you are having issues with your diet while quarantining, please reach out to the front desk of your hall or call Dining Services to inform them. Healthy eating is such a valuable thing, and quarantining doesn’t mean it needs to go to the wayside. A link to the Student Wellness Center website is listed below for information on nutrition education and services.
– Noah Jagielski, Nutrition Wellness Ambassador
Resources: