Do you remember back in the days of elementary school, when your parents would pack your favorite meal for lunch?

It would be a joy to open your lunch pail and see a homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a juice box and cookies on the side.

As the years go by and the time for college rolls around, many students find it easier to purchase their lunch at a fast food restaurants, such as Taco Bell.

Even though it seems more efficient to buy food than to make your own lunch, you spend more money on fast food compared to making yourself a homemade sandwich.

Nothing should keep you from eating healthy, but all students seem to have are excuses.

The argument for most students is they simply don’t have the time to make themselves a lunch because hectic scheduling doesn’t permit them to even consider the thought of eating.

The irony is it takes a longer time to wait in line at a restaurant and receive your order than to make one’s own homemade lunch.

Consistently purchasing fast food wastes money that could be used for groceries, which would not only save money, but also benefit your health.

When students bring homemade lunches, they know what is being put into their food rather than eating saturated fats and fried foods that harm their bodies.

Eating fast food is serving the epidemic toward obesity.

The more fast food you eat, the more you are at risk for high cholesterol, which could lead to diabetes and, even worse, a heart attack.

The health risks of fast food should convince you to start making your own lunch. This gives you the development of self-reliance that is needed as an independent college student.

As a college student you end up stressing over things such as deadlines, work schedules and bills. One of the consequences of stressing out is college students indulging in fast food to comfort the pressure of school, work and family.

Part of being self-reliant is having to deal with situations of stress, and eating fast food only makes matters worse.

Even though it may relieve stress for the moment, it deprives you of the healthy well-being you need to deal with school and work.

Making a homemade lunch is as simple as grabbing a banana or breakfast bar and heading out the door, but by getting used to making your lunch at home, you replace the habit of buying fast food.

Even though bringing your lunch pail to school may not look “cool” or “hip,” a nice homemade chicken salad is much better than buying a 99-cent greasy taco.