Hungry for... what?

I find myself in my cubicle. It's finally nicely decorated and organized, just six weeks into this adventure that everyone likes to refer to as freedom. My freedom came faster than I expected. I graduated, got a job and found an apartment all within three months of leaving school. Yes, I am definitely one of the lucky ones. But am I hungry for this freedom? I thought that I was. I was definitely hungry for it while clicking through job listings. The hunger for freedom was there when my evenings at home consisted of the Food Network and late night cereal binges. And I'm pretty sure it was there when I volunteered to clean the backyard due to sheer and utter boredom. I could not be full of freedom fast enough.

But now, sitting at my desk with not quite four, but three walls hiding my frizzy hair and exhausted appearance, I'm just hungry for the Caesar salad from Bandera. The creamy, delicious dish topped with the best cornbread croutons Chicago has to offer, was sitting in a kitchen just two blocks from my office. Sitting there, waiting for me... for $13. And where did my hunger eventually lead me? To a $5 sandwich and tap water from Subway.

No matter what freedom we have, the freedom to decide between a practical sandwich or an excessively expensive salad, we can't help but want the latter. What do you do once you achieve your first taste of freedom? My life is settled. It's not perfect, but it's definitely better than I ever expected. And yet, I'm still hungry. Yes, obviously for better lunch options, but also for something more. Not just for money, but for meaning. No matter what we as young people achieve, we have always been taught that there is something more out there for us to get our hands on. We can always do better. We can always be better. So when is that freedom really achieved?

When I get the salad from Bandera. Maybe my stomach will stop growling. And then maybe

the rest of the world, too.