Food For Thought: How Vegemite Taught Me About Trying New Things
What is Vegemite? What is it made of? How does it taste like?
If you are ever curious and find yourself asking these questions, you can always buy one online or through your local world food’s market and try it for yourself. But for the sake of the point I am about to make, the folks at Buzzfeed can give you some insight on what Vegemite is.
I’ve actually had the pleasure of trying Vegemite. My first encounter with Vegemite was a little over two years ago when my Australian uncle had brought some for the rest of my family to try.
At first glance its texture resembled something like Nutella: A rich, thick, and dark spread. But once you take a whiff and try a smudge of this Australian delight you start to realize that this is far from the hazelnut-chocolate spread you all know and love. Instead, you realize that you are inhaling Hoisin/Soy sauce infused fumes from a black tar substance that tastes like salty death.
“It was horrible. Disgusting. 10/10 would never try again.” — Cody (circa. 2014)
Common sense should have dictated me to never try Vegemite again, but anything sounds appetizing when you’re a broke and hungry college student studying for finals. So I gave it another shot. I took a slab of the black tar, spread it over some toast, took a bite, and proceeded towards the trash can to spit out the remainders.
“There has to be a better way to eat this than to just spread it over a slice of bread”.
And there was! I did some research online and found a video of Australia’s national gem detailing how to eat Vegemite. Apparently I wasn’t supposed to spread a shit-ton like with Nutella.
So I gave it another shot. Took a slab of the black tar, spread it over some toast (lightly), and took a bite. Not bad! Pretty soon Vegemite was a regular breakfast/snack item for me. I even tried it with other various combinations of foods such as: Fried egg over toast w/Vegemite (my favorite), with butter and toast, and surprisingly with Bánh Mì (if you substitute the soy sauce with Vegemite).
So how did Vegemite teach me about life?
Well it turns out that Vegemite wasn’t as bad as I thought. It’s actually pretty good now that I am aware of how to eat it. And damn, who would’ve known that I would end up liking it (not me back then, that’s for sure). But if I had told “past Cody” that I would be eating Vegemite on a fairly consistent basis, I would tell myself that’d I’m full of shit.
But I wouldn’t have known any better. Yet here I am today, willing and able to eat Vegemite.
And here’s where things get existential: Have you ever asked yourself how you got to where you are right now? What events and decisions have led you to the person sitting here (and actually reading what I have to say)?
Whatever the reason may be, you’ve probably listed dozens of countless events that have led you to this moment. These events/decisions are contingent, or dependent on one another.
Think of your life as a series of contingent events, one thing leading to another, where every decision you make will affect your future outcomes. You know…kinda like the book series Goosebumps?
All the decisions, mistakes, successes, sad times, happy times, and etc you have made has led you to where you are right now. In this way, your history (your past decisions/life events) is very much alive today.
I wouldn’t be able to accredit my current life and accomplishments if it weren’t for the decisions that I have made in the past. It was by trying something outside of my comfort zone that led me to where I am today. Trying that one new thing served as a catalyst for another thing, and another thing, and so on.
But not all decisions/choices come easy, just like how Vegemite didn’t come easy for me at first. It’s an acquired taste. And that’s the thing about certain aspects to your life, it’s an acquired taste, just like Vegemite.
Vegemite has an acquired taste, and just like trying Vegemite, most things you try in life have an acquired taste.
Life is an acquired taste. Some tastes are easier to come around, while others may be a little more difficult. Some things you try in life may not be very tasteful at first and will probably remain that way no matter how many times you try it. However, there is a silver lining for other times. With consistent effort and an open mind, you may end up liking something you never imagined you would.
Whatever the case may be, you will never know what opportunities await you until you try. After all:
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.” — Steve Jobs
Just some food for thought…
Sources
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