Revise Personal Essay Assignment

You Have Either Eaten Crabs or You Haven’t 

Have you ever eaten crabs? Because I have. Unfortunately for me, it took me twelve years to realize my passion for them. 

Having lived in the Midwest most of my life, it was a huge shock when my family and I moved to the DMV, aka the Delmarva area, a little over seven years ago. The DMV is a large peninsula made up of the states Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia and is consider one of the main hubs for seafood. My body, unaccustomed to an appetite consisting of seafood, was in utter shock and rebellion. It had been a month since having moved and I had made a multitude of observations, concluding that if you were not eating crabs, you were cooking them. If you were not cooking crabs, you were buying them. And, if you just so happen to hate crabs, you’re out of luck, because, down in the DMV, seafood is the main course, and crab is our famous delicacy. At every corner of every street, there is a fancy seafood restaurant with top-of-the-line seafood and crabs, always made the cut.

Now, being only twelve years old, my 15-pound weight loss diet consisted of only hamburgers, pizza, chicken tenders, and occasionally a piece of lettuce. Never in my life had the word "seafood" ever cross my mind. The smell was all wrong, the taste was too bland, and the fact that I might eat Dory or Nemo made seafood out of the question. Nevertheless, my parents got tired of the same old restaurants and my unoriginal appetite. They kept pestering me over and over, saying: “How can you know something doesn’t taste good until you try it?”

I mean, I hate to stereotypical but, when you live near the beach, you are basically expected to love, eat, and breathe seafood. If you are not a seafood lover, like myself, well you might as well pack your bags and move on. Unfortunately, I had no car and no place to go. My options were very limited. It was seafood vs me, and I planned on winning. 

Day one of the seafood vs me challenge came and went. We ate at a seafood restaurant called CP Shuckers Seafood Bar and Grill. So, quite naturally, I ordered a burger. My parents were utterly disappointed and made me promise that the next time we went out I would try something different. Hence, when we went to Catch 31 Seafood Bar and Grill I ordered pizza. Yet again, my parents were yet again disappointed. Then, the day everyone was waiting for… August 12, 2012.  The day I discovered crab. 

 It was a peaceful Sunday afternoon, and having just left church, my family decided to try a new restaurant, Chick’s. Since the words seafood bar and grill were not attached to the name, I assumed that seafood was out of the question. However, when we got there the menu consisted only of fish! I mean, can you believe that? The sign was so misleading. I looked at the menu, and flipped the menu over and over again, as my body went into shock. What was I going to order? What was I going to do? Everyone was waiting for me.
Oh no. I see the words "fried" and "crab" sandwich with sweet potato fries. The waiter was coming. I ordered. I took a huge gulp of water. Maybe I have made a huge mistake, I thought. I mean, it cannot be that bad – it's fried, right? Wrong. My food standards for this meal hit an all-time low. The food was coming. It then sat in front of me. I breathed. Then, I took a bite into that sandwich and my mouth slowly dropped. The words Hallelujah were singing in my head. I just had a epiphany. It was perfectly cooked, heat steaming off my plate, and the seasoning was just enough. I nearly wanted to hug the waiter. It was then that I realized the lesson my parents were trying to teach me all along.  Trying new things, even if you are afraid, is always worth trying, because, otherwise, how will you ever know.