The first and possibly most important ingredient is the beef. The beef is what provides substance and gives the meal true meaning. It gives you all the protein you need for your body to grow big and strong. The beef represents Georgia Tech in my life. It gives me a purpose, a hope, and a future. Georgia Tech keeps me sturdy and motivates me toward imminent goals. Without the beefiness of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and our beloved mascot Buzz, my life would lack momentum and direction.
Lettuce represents health in my life. It is the crispy, clean greens keep me moving and grooving. The lettuce must be important because it makes up the second part of the entrée’s name (salad). You cannot simply gorge yourself on tacos and expect no consequence in return. The lettuce rejuvenates, replenishes, and restores. Running, working out, and sports are all essential to my own well being, mentally and physically. The green aspect of my life is and will remain a crucial ingredient to my health.
The taco seasoning is what gives the taco salad its zest and its kick. Without the seasoning, the meal would be bland and lifeless. My taco seasoning is humor. The kick in the old funny bone is one of most important and most gratifying aspects of my life. It distracts me from the stress of everyday life and flavors the beef (Georgia Tech) in a positive light. My friends and I rely on dry, witty humor because it always makes our days a little bit brighter. Everybody needs a good laugh every once and a while. Zesty taco seasoning is one thing that my life could not do without.
The next ingredient to the taco salad is the salty and crunchy Fritos. The Fritos represent the tough times in my life where perseverance and determination are required to make it through. They are that element that no one person can avoid and no person should deny. You must face your trials, crunch through them, and learn from them. Although they are not a complete crowd pleaser, the Fritos are an essential element to the taco salad of life that shapes and builds personality. The crunch is what has made me who I am today and influences who I will be tomorrow.
Cheese is the ingredient that everybody knows is unhealthy, but they love it nonetheless. Cheese is the fun in life. It gives the taco salad that “yum in your tum tum” feeling like ice cream with a cherry on top. Although it will usually come back to bite you, fun is the most awesome element of my life by far. Playing sports, jammin’ on the drums, listening to music, laughing with friends, and playing video games are just some of the cheesy aspects to my fun filled existence. You have to be careful though when it comes to the cheese because too much fun can hurt the other aspects of the taco salad life if you are not careful. If you organize your personal aspects correctly and prioritize your time, fun will be one of the things in life that creates memories and generates happiness.
The final, but surely not least important, ingredient in taco salad is red, diced tomatoes. Their unceasing juiciness and amazing flavor take me back to the summer time and remind me of rest and relaxation. Relaxation is essential because it gives you a grace period where your body and mind can regenerate. It takes all of the other essential elements of life and brings them to a stand still. The fun, the stress, the work all stop and give you a momentary peace. I picture myself on a beach in a hammock, and then I look over and see a beautiful red tomato growing on a coconut tree. The tomato does this same thing for the salad. Your tastes buds just kick off their shoes, sit back in their reclining chairs, and say, “ahhhh, this is the life!” The actual reason behind this apparent result may pertain to the fact that tomatoes are made up of 93 to 95 percent water (I input this random fact to express that water is refreshing). Everybody needs that moment where they relax, forget about all their worries that have been building up in the back of their mind, and find a peaceful get away. The tomatoes in taco salad provide the escape your tongue needs for complete satisfaction.
My mom’s taco salad is much more than just food. Not only does it taste extremely good, but it also explains the aspects of my life that are most important. But this simple explanation of the ingredients’ does not suffice. The knowledge of the proper application of ingredient amount is of even greater consequence. The proper balance of additives is what takes a normal meal and morphs it into an extraordinary one. The amount per ingredient is primarily dependent upon the quantity of beef the cook uses. Similar to the proper balance of ingredients in taco salad, is the proper balance of the aspects of life. You have to make sure that hard work, fun, and relaxation are evenly distributed so that nothing tips the scales of life. We, the cooks, are in full control of every aspect of the delicious meal of life.
A great man named Forest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gunna get.” Well I say, “Life is like a taco salad, balanced and scrumptious!”
Picture: Photobucket.
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