I thought I hated cooking, but looks like it has grown on me

3 min read

  • life

Published on April 01, 2024

During my college days, one of the most enjoyable and productive parts of my life was the travel from college to home. I would usually travel via bus, and I loved doing that. While the route from my college to home was truly beautiful and remains one of my favorite roads, what I really enjoyed about it was the amount and quality of time I had at my disposal. During my trip, I could listen to songs, podcasts, or simply exist. Now that I’m done with college, I find it difficult to get that kind of quiet time. Whenever I'm near my laptop or have access to one, I either try to be productive or end up doing something fun and dopamine-driven. I miss such trips.

Once I left college and started work, I got myself a motorcycle. This meant I rarely had to rely on buses for travel. With that, I also lost the free time that I had during travel. I did consider getting speakers for my helmet (yes, those exist), but I'm very concerned about safety. When I’m riding a bike, I'm always just one bad decision or distraction away from death or injury. So, I can’t afford the comfort at the price of increased chances of me getting injured.

Bluetooth intercom for helmet

This is where cooking came in. This year, as a part of my "Bruce Wayne" arc of getting lean and strong, I decided to learn how to cook. My mom has been very patient with me over the phone to help me make my very first chicken curry. Initially, it took a lot of focus and I had to actively try to remember things and not mess up anything. But now I've made it something like 5-6 times, and the same recipe doesn’t take nearly as much focus. The other week, while cooking, I suddenly realized that I was thinking of nothing. I was just existing. The feeling I had on my bus ride home was back. I was really happy. Learning to cook, which started as a chore, suddenly became much more interesting, as it gave me something I missed so much.

Typically, it takes me around 1-1.5 hours to cook something up. During this time, I can listen to a podcast (lessgo, Huberman fans!), or think of whatever occupies or stresses me out. For example, I completed two full Huberman podcast episodes between last week and today. I'm super happy about that.

Chicken breast & salad that I made

There is also this sense of achievement when you eat the food you cooked yourself. This gives me a similar kind of high that I get from running. I've not heard anyone talk about this before, but this was something that I experienced. And overall, this is a good thing; like when you think about it, cooking is improving my mental as well as physical health. If someone told me this 2 years ago, I'd be laughing hard. But how the tables have turned. It's interesting how things can catch you off guard.

Chicken curry, fried rice & salad

If you haven’t tried cooking yet, give it a try. It takes some time and getting used to, but once you do, I think you'll enjoy it.