It comes upon you quietly. At first, your stomach starts to growl. Next, you start feeling sick that you haven’t eaten yet, and you suspect that your parents are trying to sabotage you. Finally, you begin to cry and scream obscenities having to do with Chipotle and fro-yo… I recently read an article on what happens to people when they get hangry.
Yes, I said hangry. According to Urban Dictionary, Hangry is “when you are so hungry, that your lack of food causes you to become angry, frustrated or both.” You will blame it on anyone and anything around you. All of a sudden, in your mind, your sister is purposely trying to starve you, and that lamp probably just ate the last piece of lasagna. How dare they? Well, in reality, this is your stomach talking, and there are ways to deal with this scenario.
Maybe when you first are reading this, you won’t think of yourself as ever being hangry. It sounds preposterous and a little juvenile. Well, my friends, it happens to the best of us. I have a story myself from when I was in California last summer. We had been on a plane ride for hours, and finally landed.
I had not been able to eat any of the airline meals because I do not eat meat, and I just was not in the mood for pretzels or peanuts. My family, who does eat meat, ate their silly, little microwaved airline meals, which meant their hunger had been suspended.
When we arrived, my dad, who is from California, was determined to get us to Paradise Cove in Malibu for lunch. He said it was only a half hour away. I was relieved, because I felt the rage from the lack of nourishment boiling within my empty insides.
My father loves scenery and California in general, so we had to stop at the beaches in LA and stomp on some of his old turf. I loved it because I love Cali, but I could have loved it way more if I had a to-go burrito. This took up about an hour of not going towards the lunch destination.
When we finally arrived in Malibu for lunch, the wait for a table was two hours. Two hours? Was this real? Yes, my stomach reminded me, it was very real. Me being the foodie that I am, agreed to wait since this restaurant is very well known in Southern California
Everyone else was fine, especially my of age parents who were enjoying their delicious cocktails and my sister, who was able to enjoy her nice cola. Me? I waited in agony, snapping at anyone who dared to look at me. My dad thought it was funny, but I lacked a sense of humor and told him that his drink looked gross anyhow. I didn’t want bread, I didn’t want a cola…I wanted fish tacos or something else fresh and delicious from California’s coast.
Finally, we were seated. I had the most amazing calamari, and the tacos were to die for. Jovial Olivia returned, and no one got hurt…thankfully. Guys, just bring some of your favorite snacks with you during long nights out or on trips. I love wasabi almonds, kombucha, and banana chews. If I have those light snacks, I will never go hungry or unhappy.
They are light enough to keep you from getting too full for a glorious dinner later, but not too light to leave you groping for crumbs under the passenger seat (ew). Keep it together guys–don’t let the hanger take hold of you. Fight it with happy snacks!
Correction: The article has been updated to omit a phrase added in through a typographical error.