It is common for people to struggle while trying to adjust and make new changes. In this situation, some people find it more convenient to order from restaurants that make the food for you, especially if they do not have access to grocery stores. Taking the easier route, an example being buying from fast food chains, seems more effective for consumers rather than buying their own produce and making meals themselves.

It is interesting to see how accessibility to better meals can create positive changes to families. There’s multiple supermarkets very closeby to me, and I never really thought about how life would be if these stores were far from my family and I.

Sometimes people feel awkward being alone, especially when eating by yourself. The times we spend eating alone without any company doesn’t make the meal sad, as long as you are enjoying it, that is what matters.

Sad foods are like representations of how we feel and are often eaten to comfort ourselves. From personal experience, in middle school whenever I was feeling down, my go to snack would be chopped strawberries and bananas with whipped cream. It made me feel a bit better to indulge in something I enjoy eating.

Firstborns usually follow in the footsteps of the parents and are also care takers of the younger ones, so the way Chang-rae states, “sole son, her reason for living…” is very intriguing.

Sometimes the things that our parents do, we tend to follow those exact ways. From personal experience, my parents always use a plastic glove to throw away the garbage bags, so I feel it is necessary to use gloves everytime it’s my turn to throw away the garbage.

This statement is very interesting; the way I convey it is, the value in your writing comes from how well you express yourself. Speaking your story is what truly matters.

When writing my college admission essays, I really had to think deeply about my own personal experiences and how it could catch the attention of the reader. It’s very important to express your emotions and ideas in your writing in a way that can reach your audience.

I really like the term "culinary tourism", it expresses our exploration of experiencing diverse foods and cultures. Personally, I'd like to explore more foods from different cultures rather than sticking to my own most of the time.

Even when exposing ourselves to different foods, our palates will still remember the specifics, which highlights the significance and deeper meaning of those foods. For Ligaya, Spam is still a food that resonates with her, even if it is considered a "cheap" food to some people.

Laila feels that trying to teach more about her food traditions seems inappropriate specifically during this time of war, but it could also symbolize a sense of continuity despite the turmoil occuring.

Laila emphasizes the name “torchbearer”, which reveals that she feels responsible to continue her family’s legacy through preserving their recipes. Despite the tragedies that happened, she is still maintaining her culture and traditions.