There is no greater privilege than getting to choose what to eat.

For much of human history, and for many people even in the present, this cannot even be called into question. While having the responsibility of figuring out what to make for your next meal for years on end can get tiring, it is pure luck that you even get to do that. Not everybody gets the same access to all different kinds of cuisine to pick from whenever they are feeling peckish.

Nonetheless, for anybody who has other things to do than wonder about their next meal, carrying the mental load of what to cook can feel heavy. Perhaps you don’t want to select from the four go-to dinners that you have on rotation, but you don’t know what to replace them with that would be easy, inexpensive, and nutritious. Or you know exactly what you want, but that requires a trip to the grocery store that just feels like a step too far right now. It seems like DoorDash is calling.

While there is no harm in occasionally treating yourself to takeout, the benefits of cooking for yourself regularly are many. It is a way to perfect a skill, manage what is going into your body, and maybe enjoy sharing with others, too. The kitchen isn’t always going to be a place where we succeed, but like anything, the process is the most important part. Every meal we make is a worthwhile experience, and yet another reason for us to enjoy the phenomenon of cooking memes.