What’s up my dudes. I’ve been M.I.A, I know. A lot of things have changed since we last talked. I’m not vegan anymore, which is probably the biggest change; it’s been better for me mentally. No shade for the lifestyle, I still love what it stands for, I just truly could not handle it mentally in my life. The slightly less intense change is that I’m not blonde anymore either. Not as big of a deal but it feels like I’m growing up, even if that sounds stupid. Another change (apparently a lot of things have changed in my life) is that I’m two weeks into a 13-week stay in central London for school. I’m currently studying at a school in central London for the Fall Semester and it’s been incredible so far, even if classes only just started Monday. Structurally, it’s waaaaay different from what I’ve ever experienced. For starters, I’m only taking 4 classes this term so I only have 12 hours of class a week. I’m also living in communal housing for the first time since I went to camp when I was 14. I am feeling ##blessed that I’ve had my own bathroom thus far. Lastly, and probably the most intense difference for me, is the dining/eating schedule here. Unlike in NY / when I’m home where I can eat whenever I want and create whatever schedule I want, there are very distinct hours that I have to follow here. The cafeteria is only open from 8-10:30, 12-2, and 5-7. This is the first time where I have to follow an eating pattern since high school and even that wasn’t as distinct as this. It’s been hard adjusting here, honestly. Not because I miss home (pce out america) but because I’ve never been around so many people in such incredible shape but also with such incredible wealth. It’s a humbling experience, truly. It’s also very self-reflective. It’s weird man, I don’t know.
Bad and Boujee? More like Bad and Broken: My Vegan Life at Pace University
Being a vegan isn’t too hard when you live in a place with a reliable kitchen and access to multiple food options. Being a vegan in a place where food options are limited and the only kitchen that you have access to is completely unreliable is beyond difficult.
After all of my attempts and struggles to deal with the cafeteria, I’ve given up on that aspect of college because I’ve accepted that there will never be something there that will satisfy me. Today I went grocery shopping for the first time in two weeks because of a hectic school schedule and recruitment and since it was the first time in two weeks, I went a bit buck wild buying things. I had planned to have ramen for lunch and cauliflower wings, my favourite recipe is from Hot for Food, for dinner so that I could eat half of the “wings” tonight and half tomorrow after work. When 
I made my ramen, everything in the kitchen was working peachy keen. But to my surprise, after spending half an hour prepping all of my ingredients for the “wings”, only one of the ovens were working and it was being used by someone cooking red meat, which honestly looked like brains. The image to the left is what is to be shared between 34 floors of students. My dilemma is that I have given up hope on the cafeteria, so I took things into my own hands to make food on my own, yet when I went to make my own meal the appliances were malfunctioning. This isn’t the first time where things have not worked here either; last year in my building of 23 floors there was one washing room with 13 washers and 13 dryers, and even that is pushing it considering the building houses 600 people. Out of those 13 washers and 13 dryers, 5 of the washers and 7 of the dryers were broken the entire I lived there for 8 months; absolutely nothing is reliable here.
My point is this: Pace University does not create an environment for those wishing to live different from the status quo, whether it be vegan, gluten free, or allergies to certain foods. The cafeteria is a battle that I have tried in the past to make better. But after many attempts and failed promises I began to look for other options. I have not only wasted time but also money in my quest for something as simple and rudimentary as a satisfying, satiating meal.