While it is an undeniable truth that learning to cook is one of the most important everyday skills that a person can master, there are some unspoken conditions to this. First up, you need to have the reserves of time and energy to do it. Then, you need to budget appropriately for the kind of food that you want to make. After that, you have to be prepared for the number of dishes that it will inevitably create, as well as accept the risk that if you’re cooking something new, it might not even turn out that great.

In short, you have a lot more to think about than simply what recipe you’re going to follow that day. It’s no wonder that some of us just choose to survive on microwave meals. The pay off is that you might get to eat something tasty—and that you can enjoy the highs and lows of cooking memes.