With that first bite, my teeth sink into the warm, soft skin of the lasagna. The gentle waves of marinara swim across the surface, adding a sweet and tangy sensation to the smooth taste of the homemade delicacy. Deep below the surface, the simmered ricotta hits my taste buds, and the sensation is heavenly. It’s by far the best lasagna I have ever eaten, and it was cooked by a college student.

Cooking is an essential skill, one we tend to lack at this age when we no longer eat at home. Since we’ve been eating out, we’ve not only lost any ability to cook, we’ve forgotten the value of a homemade meal. But cooking is in fact a skill worth taking the time to develop; if properly learned, it has many merits. My friend has made it a point to learn this precious skill and it profits him daily. He uses it to enthrall both professors and friends, he can win the heart of any hungry crowd, and his fine foods keep him both healthy and fed. Sadly, most students are much like myself, utterly inept in the culinary arts, and we’re missing out.

Like most students, my cooking creations violate the laws of nature, but he seamlessly creates the divinity in noodles. Even my basic pretzel can be dangerous. I have the ability to generate lumps of bread dough, inedible in all regards and a long way from dazzling anyone.

As my doughy lumps demonstrate, most students can’t cook, in part because of the lack of time and attention to learn it; macaroni and cheese becomes macaroni stew when we forget it’s on the burner. Any attempt to eat it will make you ill for a week. Our attention is distracted by homework, exams and friends. So we eat on campus because it’s quick or we eat out because it’s good, but we don’t associate good quick food with home cooking. It’s sad, though; we’re missing out on the best lasagna of our lives, the juiciest burgers of any barbecue and countless other cuisines.

The inability to cook is a mark of incompletion. You’ll always be rendered inept in the kitchen without the ability to make basic dishes. Even if you can explain cellular respiration as a college student, your experiments with carbon, hydrogen or oxygen to make anything edible could be lethal. It’s far more common to eat out to save yourself time and energy. This, however, is a restriction. An expensive one at that, where we cannot provide food for ourselves or others without paying someone else to do it. Cooking can be a strong tool in anyone’s arsenal if they allow it.

I lack the culinary skills to serenade a girl of sophistication, I’ll never be able to bring clients home to enjoy a meal, and any attempt to feed friends could be considered homicide. Taking them out to eat just isn’t the same as laboring over a dish yourself. Cooking says, “I made this, just for you to enjoy.” Cooking is the ability to bring your project manager home for a meal, a lucrative endeavor if you can make a decent dish, and it’s a bonus, a mark of sophistication that sets you apart from the world.

We’ve stopped learning because we’ve stopped cooking. Mom and Dad used to cook and we learned by watching. It’s a family bond, a way to nurture your family. But now we’re learning to eat out or eat from cans. Even though most people aren’t as bad as I am, the college cuisine rarely goes beyond ramen noodles and hot dogs. How bland, unimpressive and what poor nutritional value. Can it even be classified as a meal?

We need to learn how to wine and dine for those future instances or for those nights with a special someone or even nights where we desire something decidedly better. We need to learn the basic skills to give ourselves a good meal, cook for our families and nurture our home. It’s a matter of practice, so while you’re at home, take charge to make a dish. Learn to dazzle your family over Thanksgiving and Christmas. Start small, a desert for Labor Day weekend. Before you go out to eat, consider making something at home. It’s a fun experience, you’ll save a few bucks and you might even find a recipe that works pretty well. Although it seems small, going out of your way once in a while could serve you, your family, your friends or your coworkers quite well in the future.