Paper writing break (a few thoughts on food and poverty)

Even though I’m going for a work out break in 30 mins.

Today has been fantastic. Despite feeling kinda sick and blah in the morning, I took a shower, did my hair and makeup (it’s amazing how good that can make you feel) and went to my class. I ate really well: Cereal for breakfast, rice noodles, veg and chicken for lunch, big salad for dinner and a soy latte (with no added sugar) for a pick me up in the evening. I was also productive at school for once and am really getting into the paper I’m writing.

Some of you may know that I’m in Development Studies, which is hard to describe when people ask me what the heck it actually is. Basically I learn about poverty, social and political issues in the global south and study theories and practices that are designed to fight those issues and improve quality of life around the world. It’s really interesting but depressing as well.

Throughout my studies I’ve become very interested in agriculture and food production and how it relates to poverty and development, particularly in Africa. I hope to learn more about this first hand when we travel to areas outside of Johannesburg in May, since reading about it may be one thing, but seeing it gives you a whole new perspective.

One thing that I believe has also given me new perspective is this health journey I started in January. Being part of this tumblr community, learning about health and food choices has really made me consider branching into nutrition studies to understand more about the nature of food and the importance of food security all over the world. Poverty and hunger are important, interconnected problems that even I forget about when I’m obsessing over calories and fat content. So I’m going to make the effort to think about where my food comes from every time I feel the need to overeat or snack when I’m not hungry and remind myself how lucky I am to have access to food in the first place.