Salmon Bowl

You may say that posting food nowadays is a pretty viral thing. Every time you see a picture somewhere on Instagram, you think, "Oh, I should go to that place one day!" or "OMG, I am so tired of looking at those pictures daily".

However, this one photo is not just food this time, I promise. At first sight, there are some pieces of mango, salmon, cucumbers, and avocado covered with sezame. At the same time, I see a cold morning, streets covered with snow, a feeling of being nauseous thinking about going to school, a warm scarf that feels itchy on your neck, and thoughts about all the possible ways to skip the bus and stay home. Imagine what could possibly happen if, literally in 10 minutes, I wished—no, I begged God—to go to school that morning. You most likely didn't expect that answer. Neither did I. I was eating my morning cereal when I heard an incredibly loud noise. I may say that it was similar to the fire alert, but in reality, it was not. It was filled with grief, just like the sky was being torn apart, and I tried to hold back tears. Panic has eaten me alive. I took my phone, opened any news page, and saw a heading. "The invasion has started. Most of the towns are being bombed." In a second, I heard the explosion. I ran up to my mom, mumbling something about the war. I honestly don't remember. I packed my things, and we left the country as soon as possible. I did not have time to say goodbye to my closest people. Honestly, I did not even think of that. That is how my life felt when I saw my most favorite person ever for the last time. At least, I truly believed it was the last one. I had always complained about how awful my life had been. "I hate school. I don't have real friends. My parents don't love me enough. I don't have a boyfriend. I can't stand potatoes." One day, all the problems I have ever had will turn out to be nothing. I tried to carry the bag that included all of my life for 16 years and was honestly ready to leave it just to stay alive. In a few hours, I crossed the border, and the worst part is that I did not feel relieved. "Am I a betrayer now? Are you supposed to run away from your country as soon as it faces hard times? Sound wrong." I started to build a new, temporary life. I started volunteering. I went to university. Bringing documents to enroll in university felt in my head like "I am going to develop myself to rebuild my country as soon as the war ends". Unfortunately, this story does not have a good ending. The war still goes on. It is still dangerous to stay in the town where I was born, and it is dangerous to eat the salmon bowl right now. However, I am here, and I have just cooked the most tasty food of my life with the person I turned out to not appreciate enough, and our lives have completely changed. I finally managed to come home, and I fully understand that you should appreciate every minor thing you have in your life. I do not regret that I understood it just now. I am grateful that I have a chance to finally get it while I am still alive. I am leaving home in a couple of days to continue getting my degree, but I will be back to take at least a hundred more photos of my food, I promise.