The capitalization of Food-Coma

When one considers the physical function that food has in any individual’s life, it is clear that in first world countries often times what we put emphasis on in meals is a product of a luxurious mindset. With college students nationwide (myself included) constantly complaining about the three meals a day they get prepared for them, food is something that people in well-off countries, like America, need to be more than just fuel for their bodies.

We all need fuel, however, and running on an empty tank is less than enjoyable to say the least. On the brighter side, I know for me when I don’t eat for an extended period of time to let my tank feel empty, not only is what I eat more enjoyable to the taste, but refueling itself is an incredible experience leaving me in the commonly known state of “food-coma”. This is my story about how I took advantage of food-comas in a ritualized attempt to relax after a long week.

My first semester of my senior year was incredibly stressful. From captaining two sports teams to being in charge of my student government and most of all being under immense self-inflicted academic pressure after a hang-out heavy junior year, I had a lot of responsibilities to have success in what I was doing as well as allow for more success in the future. Needless to say every moment I had to relax was a wonderful happening.

When the last day of my work week came around (Friday) it was an unfortunate combination of the day with the heaviest responsibilities and the day I wanted to let myself relax the most. We had a very intense atmosphere around our football team and the social responsibility that each student had to go out and support them every game they played. Because of this, I was in charge of a tailgate and mass transportation to every away football game for the entire season which all fell on Fridays after the school day was over adding about 4 extra hours of work to my uninspired burnt out Friday self.

To make this situation better, I applied my own spin of a work hard play hard mentality. After my 11 am lunch, me and one of my friends made a pact to not eat any food no matter how hungry we got until I finished with all of my Friday responsibilities and he finished his over 15 mile cross country workout. This ensured we would for sure have tanks that hit empty.

As I grilled hot dogs and burgers for people attending the tailgate, my stomach rumbled in reaction to my widening eyes and twitching nose of all the food around me. Getting hungrier and hungrier, I was incredibly eager to get some food in me. When the buses of students finally rolled out for game time, it was game time for me in an entirely different way.

Topolinos Pizza. 18 inches of spiced, garlicy, sizzling, deliciousness that knew how to call my name like no other meal in my life. In about 10 – 12 minutes, the entire pizza would be half in my stomach, and half in my friends and it was only a matter of minutes before we were hit with a paralyzing food coma in which the feeling of ultimate apathy would sink in ensuring a Friday night without glamorous adventure. 

To capitalize on the post pizza recovery recharge, we would head to the local athletic club’s hot tub to await the return of enough energy to do something with our lives. In an average time of around an hour, the coma’s paralysis would wear off, and we would be charged enough to enjoy the rest of a very relaxing night.

Now, one may think that these Friday’s would not be the ones that would be bunny eared in my high school scrapbook, but they hold an incredibly special place in my heart. Using Topolino’s Pizza as a method of recharging my body was a transcendent occurrence that really recharged my mind body and soul. At the particular time this ritual went down in my week was the primary object that allowed me to recharge enough to hit the next week as hard as I needed to in order to achieve success. Even more so, the timing of this weekly ritual in my life allowed me to remain sane. While continuing a schedule involving a lot more work than my peers as well as one that I thought I was able to handle, these events allowed me to feel in a more balanced swing of things. My connection and loyalty to Topolino’s runs incredibly deep because of how it was the strongest agent in helping me recover from things in my life that was cutting at my knees.

When I got the joy of reuniting with Topolino’s over this past spring break, a feeling of comfort came back to me. With each bite, I feel like I am being told that things will turn out alright and just to relax. As crazy as it sounds, I would choose the taking part in the capitalization of food-comas over any crazy party after a long week every single time.