Each year in college, I’ve learned something new about myself. In my freshman year, I learned that I am capable of playing music in front of others without collapsing from nerves. Sophomore year, I learned that despite feeling jaded from my experience at my art high school, I still liked to draw. Junior year, I learned that my preferred alcoholic beverage is a nice glass of wine (and, when I was in the trenches, maybe a whole bottle or two). Now, in my senior year, I’ve learned that one of my love languages is gift-giving.
Or, perhaps it is more accurate to say snack-sharing.
It started one night in the fall when I brought some of my favorite candy to a Tuesday dinner that I regularly have with my friends. I placed a package on the table of li hing mui strawberry belts — chewy candy sprinkled with tangy li hing mui powder — that was recently gifted to me by a friend. As a candy that I was absolutely obsessed with as a teenager, I wanted everyone to try it.
We passed the package around the table and each tore off a piece of the red gummy strips. This act of sharing something together made me smile. I felt warm and fuzzy inside.
Oddly enough, this moment reminded me of all the times my parents would have people over (sometimes even on the weekdays, which my elementary school self thought was so cool), cook something yummy and share a meal together.
After that day, I knew I wanted to continue to bring snacks to these dinners.
That weekend, I stopped by Trader Joe’s and H Mart, and emerged at our next Tuesday dinner with a whole bag of goodies in hand — everything from Trader Joe’s Takis and Cocoa Batons to chocolate churro and truffle-flavored Turtle Chips.
Just like the moment with the li hing mui candy, seeing my friends pass around these snacks and enjoy them together filled my heart with delight.
In a college student-modified fashion, I felt like I could now understand why my parents loved hosting people for meals while I was growing up. There’s something rather special and intimate about sharing food, and though I may not necessarily be able to cook a whole meal for my friends here, I can still bring plenty of snacks to share.
“Now, in my senior year, I’ve learned that one of my love languages is gift-giving.“
From that Tuesday on, I started regularly bringing a bag of snacks to our dinners, and then even to the library where many of us would study after. It quickly became a tradition — one that I continue to this day — and it has brought so many sweet and silly memories throughout senior year.
Numerous times at school, I’ve chuckled at the memories of friends searching the depths of my bag for the last Taiwanese dried noodle snack pack, me choking on a cough drop while mid-bite of a Turtle Chip and us plowing through Pocky sticks at 11 p.m.
All of these memories have stemmed from the simple act of sharing food, and I believe it has brought us closer, too.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day month, I write about this tradition of care. My English class discussions on access intimacy and intimate labor have led me to wonder what acts of care look like for different people, and moreover, how do I show others that I care for them?
I believe that my answer changes with every season, but in this season of senior year (and now senior spring), my answer is this: I feel that I most tangibly show people that I care for them by feeding them. Through gift-giving in the form of their favorite snacks.
Care for me right now looks like bringing chocolate-covered powerberries and Scandinavian Swimmers to the library, knowing that friends’ faces light up at the sight of these candies. Care looks like buying a bag of gochujang-flavored shrimp chips during an H Mart run and always being on the lookout for the injeolmi-flavored Turtle Chips, hopeful that one day I’ll be able to surprise my Scripps friends with them. Care looks like texting in a group chat: “I’m on my way to Trader Joe’s — you have 10 minutes to tell me what you want!”
As spring semester hurries on, I look forward to continuing sharing snacks with my friends and regularly replenishing my bag with goodies to fuel us through our studies. I look forward to more moments of passing snacks around the table in a similar way to how my parents passed around food with friends during my childhood.
It is these moments that I cherish so deeply as I think about my upcoming graduation in May.
So here’s to more moments of gift-giving, snack sharing and plopping down my Hello Kitty bag in the library for my friends to eagerly peruse its contents. As a matter of fact, I think I’m going to make another Trader Joe’s run this weekend. More chocolate-covered powerberries and Scandinavian Swimmers are on my list … What else do people want?
Emily Kim PO ’25 is from Irvine, California. Her current favorite item from her snack hauls is the chocolate churro Turtle Chips, which she believes is the perfect crunchy sweet treat.
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