At school one afternoon, I opened my bag to find a piece of paper folded neatly in the pocket. Written on it were the words, “Hope you have a great day,  enjoy your lunch!”. Smiling to myself, I dug deeper inside the bag to find what other goodies my mom had tossed in. I pulled out a container and opened it up to find it was my mom’s famous beet and apple salad. I grabbed for a fork and dug in. As I munched on some spinach and beet, one of my best friends asked what I was eating. When I told her what it was, her face contorted, and looked as if I had told her I had rotten tomatoes in my mouth. “What’s a beet?” she inquired. I swallowed what I had in my mouth and looked at her quizzically.  

“How do you not know what a beet is?” I asked.

“I don’t know I’ve just never had a beet. Are you sure that it’s safe to eat? It’s a purple vegetable …those are usually made in a lab.” 

She giggled at her own joke and I rolled my eyes and took another bite. But then I looked around the table, curious to recognize what other people had on their own plates. Most of them had the usual cafeteria food; chicken nuggets, hot dogs, chips, pizza and fries. Those who packed their lunches came with microwavable popcorn, lunchables, gushers, and other snacks normally found in the breakfast food aisle of the grocery story. I rarely spotted someone putting a vegetable in their mouth that hadn’t been fried. I was taken aback about the number of people who would ordinarily go through the lunch line and always come back with the same meal. 

My mom was the one who generally packed my lunch in the morning before I went off to school. Normally, I would sit down in my chair  and open up a glass tupperware that had leftovers from the night before. Sometimes, I would even nibble on a salad that had been packed in a mason jar. My friends nicknamed me “the healthy girl.” When I first heard them say it, I didn’t mind as much. Consequently, they then questioned what I was consuming, since the food I ate was foreign to them. They would pounce on me like lions hunting a gazelle whenever I had something new to eat.  I established a routine where I would hide my food behind my lunchbox and would try to make my movements inconspicuous. I would keep my head down, focusing on a book that I had in my lap, or on my phone studying for an upcoming test. 

One day I was watching Tasty videos on my phone and chewing on a granola bar. These two girls came over, heads close together, trying their hardest to make sure I didn’t hear what they were saying. They sat down and immediately pulled out their phones, one girl plugging her earbuds in so they could listen to the same music. They didn’t touch their lunchboxes until the bell was about to ring. I watched, one eye on them and the other lazily watching a video about a two minute brownie in a mug. Finally, one girl reached out to unzip her bag and pulled out one snack size pack of candy. She spilled the contents on the table and divided it up evenly and each girl took a half. For all I knew, that was all they were eating that period. Then the bell rang, I cleaned up my trash, shook my head a little disapprovingly and pushed in my chair. I replayed the actions of the two girls over and over in my head, never getting back to my schoolwork. 

My dad must’ve been working late and couldn’t make it in time for dinner, so that night it was  me and my mom for dinner. My mom dished out our meal, we said grace, and then we ate in silence. We were both lost in thought and didn’t say much for a while. At last I said,

“Today there were these two girls at my table who literally just ate candy.”

“Oh, you’re kidding me!” My mom exclaimed, breaking away from her train of thought. 

“Nope.” I state matter of factly. 

Silence enveloped the room again, and I knew my mom’s mind was social work central right now. 

“That’s a little ridiculous, how could they not have eaten anything else? If they do this everyday, it will become a bad habit and that is seriously unhealthy.”

“I don’t think they do it everyday, but I could be wrong. You should see what everyone else eats at my lunch table.” I roll my eyes a bit and then say, “I just don’t understand why they make fun of my food and say that I am “the healthy girl.” What’s wrong with the way I eat?” 

“Honey there is nothing wrong with the way you eat. Especially as a dancer you need to have a well balanced diet. Those girls aren’t doing themselves any favors by eating sweets for lunch. You shouldn’t care that people call you “the healthy girl” and should take it as a compliment.” 

Hunching over in my chair, I poked at a piece of broccoli. My mother was right, it was just so hard to recognize that when people were tantalizing towards me. My mom reached over and patted my back a few times, the way she frequently does when I am upset. She said to go study and to take my dog in my room, so she could do the dishes. I shuffled back to my room with Max close behind, he jumped on my bed and curled up in a little ball. I sat next to him and brought out my computer to do homework, my mom’s words still echoing in my head. 

Over the next couple weeks I gained my confidence back and didn’t care if people judged the way I ate. I brought quinoa with kale and black bean dip to school, and didn’t get offended if someone gave me a judgmental look. Soon after middle school, I became a vegetarian because I wanted to discover what impact that lifestyle would have. When I made it to high school, I felt liberated and knew I could be myself no matter how quirky people might think I am. As I sat down at my table, I brought out a canister filled  with soup. I slurped the hot mixture, while my best friend snacked on some cheerios. I laughed at a joke she made and that smile stayed on my face the rest of the day.