June 2024
breakfast: an anecdote
We eat breakfast every day, don’t we? Actually, not always. The reality is that we often forget about it even though it is the “most important meal of the day.” Just like this meal that has, what I would argue, a spread of the most nourishing and decadent possibilities, so do the small things in life. Yet, just like breakfast, we often ignore the fruitful qualities of our day-to-day. What I found similar about these two human experiences is their juxtaposing trivial significance. In this piece, I deconstruct my morning routine in Seoul and Toronto and, more importantly, their different versions when I describe them in the present and as something from the past. I realized the limitations of my ability to appreciate what was before me. Only from afar was I able to grasp the vibrance of my mornings when the only factor that changed was my perspective. So, I hope to communicate what breakfast could be for you. This is, “breakfast.”
Let me take you back to a Monday morning in Seoul. There I was rolling out of bed and swishing my feet across the hall and into the kitchen to make a pb & j. I opened the fridge and saw two options: white or multigrain—a serious debate. I chose multigrain that day, smeared a hefty serving of peanut butter on my toast, and popped open a fresh new jar of strawberry jam. As I glazed the knife over my multigrain slice, I pondered my plans for the day.
It is currently a Monday morning in Seoul. There I am, rolling out of bed, scrolling through my phone. I eventually get up. I hobble over to the kitchen to open the fridge and grab the loaf in front of me. I take a slice. The peanut butter jar is on my left, and the jam is in the right corner of the kitchen island next to the coffee grinder. This is muscle memory; I could make a pb & j in my sleep. I slab the peanut butter and jelly on my toast and scroll through my phone some more.
Let me take you back to an early Monday morning in Toronto. It was 7 am on the dot. I felt the thrill of productivity and bustling school life. I got up, went downstairs, and made a matcha. I scrambled two eggs that day and added just the right salt and pepper. The kitchen was richly filled with notes of warmth and comfort from the olive oil I used. I sat down to eat and turned on a wellness podcast.
It’s an early Tuesday morning in Toronto. I think it’s 7 am. I’m exhausted. I drag my body out of bed to find myself somehow in the kitchen, cracking two eggs. I carelessly and chaotically mix them, and they form a shape resembling scrambled eggs. My mind runs with assignments to complete, errands to run, and socializing to keep up with. Then, I notice the podcast playing in the background on my phone. I pause it, finish up my breakfast, and begin my day.
My 2024 New Year’s resolution is simple yet meaningful: be present. If I’m being honest, all four of the realities I described are true. My morning breakfast is trivial and monotonous but also inspiring, intentional, and delicious. Whether it is in Seoul, where I am home and in a relaxed state, or in Toronto, where my day is packed to the brim, there are two kinds of realities that I experience. I had a realization. While it is not a new concept, I only recently realized that I viewed the grass as greener on the other side. The contrasts in my life only became more prevalent when I began college and spent days reminiscing over the location, which I wasn’t currently in. After years of fantasizing about the past or dwelling on what could have been, I decided I had enough this year. Instead, I am claiming my perception of the past as a part of my experience and the perspective I choose to have. Now, there’s another element to this: how realistic am I being? My answer is that if I could create a narrative of the past, I can bring that narrative to the present day. This does not mean to dramatize my reality or fill it with inauthenticity but to see more than what meets the eye. Everyday life can be and surely is, at times, dull or even dreadful. But I believe that seeing the potential for life to be more valuable than what it is is a step closer to it truly being valued.
So, breakfast. It is the meal that I see as being taken for granted and is symbolic of our approach to our day-to-day. Instead, I hope to look closer, live with intent, and see the potential in my humble pb & j.