Personal Essay 5

Mango Sorbet

The sun was basically burning my eyes. The temperature was projected to be 85 degrees, and I was in long sleeves. Not to mention, the park that my mother and I stood in front of was closed. It was living up to be a terrible day. 

However, I was holding the one thing that made it all worth it. Delicious gooey syrup melted down the cone as I took a lick. The mango flavor was the perfect combination of sweet and tangy. As I took a bite of the cone, crunching into its starchy sweetness, I thought about how desolate earth would be without mango sorbet. 

There's a lot of things I like, especially when it comes to food. But mango sorbet. It has to be the ultimate dessert, or maybe even food. It’s the one thing I would wait in line for, even for absurd amounts of time. No matter the time, place, occasion - if there's mango sorbet around, sign me up!

However, it was not always this way. I used to dislike mango sorbet when I first tasted it. My mother had introduced it to me when I was just a toddler, and I HATED it. It was nothing like the sweet and creamy vanilla that I liked so much. It was weird and orange, and honestly, dissolved too quickly on my tongue. I remember judgmentally looking at my mom every time she got it at ice cream stores, thinking about how vanilla was a much better choice. 

In hindsight, I don’t know why exactly I disliked it so much. It’s mango sorbet. Even to the biggest hater, the taste couldn’t be THAT bad. Honestly, I think I was my pickiness. After all, this feeling of dislike wasn’t unique to mango sorbet - it applied to anything new that was introduced in my life. Except for new toys, whenever my mom tried to give me something new to try, I rejected her offers. New clothes? Uncomfortable and smelled like store. New hairstyle? My head just felt sad. I think my dislike of novelty stemmed from the fact that I enjoyed what I knew, what I was familiar with. During this time in life, I was unwilling to step out of my comfort zone. I tried the new things my mom asked me to do, but very, very unwillingly. I was more focused on remaining in the cozy box I lived in. 

However, as I grew older, I faced new challenges. Going to kindergarten and interacting with fellow kids forced me to try things I didn’t like with a positive attitude. (Else, I’d seem like the total douche I was). But, trying more and more things got me to appreciate them more. I remember distinctly that for one class period, we were tasked with painting with brushes. Since I was used to painting with my fingers, it felt weird to have this plastic thing in my hand. But, as I started to paint, I found that I really liked using the brush. I mean, hey, it was different. But it made life so, so much easier. From that point on, I always painted with brushes. 

This appreciation of the novel wasn’t just limited to extracurricular activities - it also extended to my food. Maybe more of my taste buds died off, so I got used to the food. But, I honestly think that kindergarten forcing me to try new things helped me like different foods. I began expanding my appetite to things other than cut up apples and rice. I actually began eating the meat inside of my dumplings, instead of just the peel. 

If you asked 3 year old me, I never would’ve guessed mango sorbet to be my favorite food. But, now it is. It just goes to show how the new and unexpected can be the comfortable favorite.