Chew on this! My Life with fast food.

Chew on this! My life with fast food.

Fast food has played a somewhat big role in my life. When I was a child my mom would drive us up to see my grandma in Torrance, California and we would always have one stop and this little organic farm near Riverside. There we would get a ton of produce, nuts, and great cheese. Unfortunately sometimes I would throw a fit and want McDonalds. What child doesn't want a happy meal that includes a toy? I don’t think in the late 80’s the food was as fake as it became later on or maybe the general public didn’t know just how bad it was for you. On other trips that I got moody on my mom would as: “Do you want a happy meal?” I’d say no. Then she would ask: “Do you want a sad meal?” Of course I couldn’t help to not laugh and then want a happy meal after. Unlike my older three siblings, I wasn’t raised with home cooked meals every night. My parents work schedules prevented them from being home at night so they’d often call me and ask what they wanted to me to have them pick up for me to eat. At that point I had realised how good Taco Bell, Del Taco, Jack in the Box, and a ton of little “hole in the wall” restaurants were. At the time being super skinny, I never payed any attention to what I was eating because it had no effect on how I looked. As I got older, I wanted to increase my lean mass and did so of course taking out all fatty foods.
To this day, I rarely eat fast food. In a blue moon or a drunken night, then I might go for some late night grease food but for the most part I stray away. My cravings now actually include sashimi, thai food, or authentic mexican tacos which aren’t as bad as the american version. I think having a healthier lifestyle and surrounding yourself with people who are equally as healthy helps with staying away from fast-food. In addition, being vain actually might make some people more healthy. If you’re vain then looking good and staying in great physical condition are going to make more people not want fast food. I think as time goes on our civilization will start to adapt better ways to make better food that isn't going to harm our bodies; however, the only way we will get there is if we start demanding more from corporations who prepare and make our food.

The Past, Present, & Future of...me!

The past, present, and Future of Derek Wiles

I was born on October 21st, 1984 in San luis obispo to Greg and Jeana Wiles. The youngest of four, I had a older brother and two older sisters: Zak, Tahlia, and my favorite Buffy. While some might say I was spoiled, I really wasn’t. My parents moved the family, except my older sister Buffy who had just got married, to Palm Springs when I was four years old and unfortunately got divorced not too long after. We stayed in the house that my parents had together except my Dad left. After that I didn’t see much of my father the majority of my life from that point on. A few years later my Mom met a man whom she eventually married and became a great addition to our family. While growing up and going through school, I wasn’t very motivated which showed by my grades. After graduating high school, I moved to Silver Strand beach in Oxnard California with my oldest sister who had divorced a few years earlier. I’ve made many mistakes since living here and also have done many great things. I think you could say I’ve grown up a lot.

After a long stage of my life that mostly involved going out and partying, I decided to start going back to school. Currently in my fifth semester back, I am more than halfway through receiving my associates degree in... still undecided. I know I prefer doing math over other subjects. I also know I care about the environment. I’m strongly interested in new technology; however, my hearts beats to music. My taste varies greatly. After an intense summer school session and the loss of the most important person in my life (I’ll get into that in a future post) I try to just live in the present. Of course striving to better myself but not beating myself up for anything.

I know for my future I want a job that can afford me the privilege of hosting dinner parties. It’s not that I love to cook but more I love to impress people with an amazing home cooked dinner. We as a nation eat out way too often. I love to vacation! So far I’ve been to about thirteen different states in the U.S. and outside our country twice: once to Bocas Del Toro in Panama and the other time to Tijuana, Mexico -- does T.J. even count? I want to help my family out, show them an amazing life, and take them outside the country. Mostly I want to be generous with my people I love; my mom was the most generous person I have ever known. She always shared with everyone and I want to be able to make people feel special the way she showed us was possible. Until I have that dream life, I’ll keep cooking, keep working hard, and strive to be the absolute best version of myself I can possibly be.