Obsession

Now I’ve got an obsession… I must admit that I am obsessed. Having just recognized my obsession about a week ago, I can’t say whether this has been a life-long passion or merely a new devotion to my home-town. Either way, it has grown into an obsession, an obsession which I, apparently, share with other Penn students from the South. In fact, during a “diversity” training that I recently attended, someone categorized this obsession as a typical southern stereotype—“OBSESSED with Chick-fil-a” proclaimed the boldly written post-it-note.

At first, I chuckled to myself. But then I started thinking about how many times I had passionately expressed the wonders of Chick-fil-a to those unfortunate souls who had yet to enter the beckoning cow’s lair. How many times I had glorified their perfectly crispy nuggets, their piquant special sauce, their creamy milkshakes, or their crispy waffle fries. How many times my fellow southerners at Penn and I tried to organize a Chick-fil-a outing. Too many. Obsessively too many.

Does moving to a new place, a place where our prevalent foods are not readily available cause us to acquire new obsessions? Or do they merely unleash something that we have always liked? I’m not sure. But, I certainly think that the foods we grew up with become, in a way, a part of our identity. It’s interesting to think about all the foods that one may believe a certain group of people are obsessed with. I, for one, think Philadelphians are obsessed with cheesesteaks. But, I’d really like to know what other areas share a special connection with a food item or restaurant! And, if those people think they’re obsessed…or if it takes a drastic location change to unveil this preoccupation!