As of 2022, the US produces about 1.38 billion gallons of ice cream annually. The ice cream making process consists of a few key steps: weighing ingredients, mixing them together, pasteurizing, and freezing. The process of creating the mixture takes about 20 to 30 minutes. Then the freezing could take anywhere from 4 to 24 hours. The world consumes about 15 billion liters of ice cream a year.
Ice cream is the perfect summer treat and kids love it. We’ve all heard “ I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.” Of course, these are screams of joy. It brings nothing but happiness and joy to a little kid, especially on a hot summer day. I remember being that little kid and running for the ice cream truck. I always knew it was around because of the now-nostalgic song it played.
I find myself comparing the concept of childhood to ice cream—at least in the aspect of it not lasting very long. After all the work it takes to create, ice cream it will melt in the span of 10-30 minutes. It’s quite literally short and sweet, just like my childhood. Now I find myself reminiscing about what once was, and how it will never be again. The hardest part about that realization was knowing that I didn’t even want to be a kid at the time. I always wanted to be older and to that I was always told, “Enjoy it. You’re gonna be an adult much longer than you are a child.” Now I couldn't think of anything I would want more than to go back to that time when things were easy; a time when I was innocent.
Ice cream is the perfect summer treat and kids love it. We’ve all heard “ I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.” Of course, these are screams of joy. It brings nothing but happiness and joy to a little kid, especially on a hot summer day. I remember being that little kid and running for the ice cream truck. I always knew it was around because of the now-nostalgic song it played.
I find myself comparing the concept of childhood to ice cream—at least in the aspect of it not lasting very long. After all the work it takes to create, ice cream it will melt in the span of 10-30 minutes. It’s quite literally short and sweet, just like my childhood. Now I find myself reminiscing about what once was, and how it will never be again. The hardest part about that realization was knowing that I didn’t even want to be a kid at the time. I always wanted to be older and to that I was always told, “Enjoy it. You’re gonna be an adult much longer than you are a child.” Now I couldn't think of anything I would want more than to go back to that time when things were easy; a time when I was innocent.
Ice cream has always been something I loved; always positive. At least, that's what I thought. It wasn’t until summer 2023 when I began to think otherwise. I had fallen into a state of depression for various reasons, yet it was something I couldn’t explain at the time. The one thing I could always say “helped” was ice cream. No matter what, I would always eat ice cream, and I was okay with that. There were a few things from my summer that made me realize that no matter how much I love ice cream, it was becoming unhealthy for me. That's kind of ironic; I thought ice cream was supposed to bring nothing but joy and happiness.
Similar to ice cream, there were a few key ingredients it took to cause me to feel the way I was feeling. The first was the fact that I was always at home. It was summer, a time when you’re meant to go out, have fun, and just feel alive—but, similar to a Lisbon sister from The Virgin Suicides, I felt trapped in my home. It’s not that I couldn’t leave—I wasn’t being forced to stay at home—I just didn’t want to. I was allowing this to alter my relationships with family and friends as well. I found so much comfort in my home that it began to consume me and still I had yet to realize it.
The second ingredient added to my mixture was my idea of body image; body dysmorphia if you will. Body dysmorphia is a mental health disorder in which you can’t stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in your appearance. I've never been super fixated on how my body looked, but when fitted clothes start to look baggy out of nowhere, you start questioning some things. I expressed my concerns about my body and in return I was always asked, “Well what did you eat today?” But I could never recall. In fact, I couldn’t recall what I had eaten the last few weeks besides ice cream. I was experiencing negative emotions, and to that, my response, my coping mechanism, was always ice cream. But I realized where I was filling one void—that being depression—with ice cream, I was simultaneously creating another one: a potential eating disorder.
Lastly, my final ingredient, the cannon event for most teenage girls: a boy. This boy took a toll on my metal health simply because he confused me. I liked him, but I was always questioning his feelings for me. If there is one thing I always knew, it is that boys, especially the teenage ones, are liars. It didn’t matter what he said to me, most of it was manipulation and it took me too long to realize. He caused more pain than I was already unknowingly going through. He left me wondering why I was never enough. Was it because I never left home or because of the way I looked? Or was he just a stupid boy?
Those three things were the main issues I had circling in my head. There was no one without the other; they were all connected. Instead of facing these problems, I allowed them to mix together and freeze. But at some point of course, reality hit me. I was breaking. I felt myself, and all my issues, melting away. Creating a mess; and all I could think about was how much easier things were when I was younger.
Similar to ice cream, there were a few key ingredients it took to cause me to feel the way I was feeling. The first was the fact that I was always at home. It was summer, a time when you’re meant to go out, have fun, and just feel alive—but, similar to a Lisbon sister from The Virgin Suicides, I felt trapped in my home. It’s not that I couldn’t leave—I wasn’t being forced to stay at home—I just didn’t want to. I was allowing this to alter my relationships with family and friends as well. I found so much comfort in my home that it began to consume me and still I had yet to realize it.
The second ingredient added to my mixture was my idea of body image; body dysmorphia if you will. Body dysmorphia is a mental health disorder in which you can’t stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in your appearance. I've never been super fixated on how my body looked, but when fitted clothes start to look baggy out of nowhere, you start questioning some things. I expressed my concerns about my body and in return I was always asked, “Well what did you eat today?” But I could never recall. In fact, I couldn’t recall what I had eaten the last few weeks besides ice cream. I was experiencing negative emotions, and to that, my response, my coping mechanism, was always ice cream. But I realized where I was filling one void—that being depression—with ice cream, I was simultaneously creating another one: a potential eating disorder.
Lastly, my final ingredient, the cannon event for most teenage girls: a boy. This boy took a toll on my metal health simply because he confused me. I liked him, but I was always questioning his feelings for me. If there is one thing I always knew, it is that boys, especially the teenage ones, are liars. It didn’t matter what he said to me, most of it was manipulation and it took me too long to realize. He caused more pain than I was already unknowingly going through. He left me wondering why I was never enough. Was it because I never left home or because of the way I looked? Or was he just a stupid boy?
Those three things were the main issues I had circling in my head. There was no one without the other; they were all connected. Instead of facing these problems, I allowed them to mix together and freeze. But at some point of course, reality hit me. I was breaking. I felt myself, and all my issues, melting away. Creating a mess; and all I could think about was how much easier things were when I was younger.
Here I go again wishing for that innocence I once had. Wishing I was still oblivious to the world. The truth of the matter is yes, I did want to be older—but now that I am “older,” I'm scared of growing up. I'm scared of what I will have to make of myself in the next year, let alone in life. I miss the days when all I had to do was be a kid. Where I could go out and play without a care in the world. I miss that innocent part of me that didn’t think about how my body looked or about boys. The kid that didn’t even know the word depression existed. Sometimes I feel like consuming ice cream keeps that kid alive and that without it, that part of me will melt away. I’ve found myself holding on to ice cream because to me, that is a childish dessert that helps me mask my not so childish emotions. But perhaps I was holding on a little too much.
Too much of anything can be unhealthy for you. My love for ice cream hasn’t changed; however, I did have to acknowledge the fact that it was having a negative effect on me. It could have different effects as well. If you eat too much ice cream, it could cause a brain freeze. Something that you eat can make your brain physically hurt—and because it is physical, it’s more likely to cause someone to take action to ease that pain.
But what about when your brain is mentally hurting? As of 2023, 8.3 percent of US adults have undiagnosed depression. That's over 21 million people. Although I am not an adult, I would have been part of this statistic. I had never been to a doctor to tell me I was depressed. However, I did know depression ran in my family and that I was prone to it. I knew what depression looked like, but I didn’t realize that was what I was going through until months later. As of 2024 about 30 million Americans live with an eating disorder. I guess I’ll never know if I was developing one, but I always knew my body, and at the time it didn’t feel right. I say this to say: mental brain freeze exists too, and because they are mental, we are less likely to react. We can feel it, but because it doesn’t physically cause harm, it’s just pushed under the radar.
Too much of anything can be unhealthy for you. My love for ice cream hasn’t changed; however, I did have to acknowledge the fact that it was having a negative effect on me. It could have different effects as well. If you eat too much ice cream, it could cause a brain freeze. Something that you eat can make your brain physically hurt—and because it is physical, it’s more likely to cause someone to take action to ease that pain.
But what about when your brain is mentally hurting? As of 2023, 8.3 percent of US adults have undiagnosed depression. That's over 21 million people. Although I am not an adult, I would have been part of this statistic. I had never been to a doctor to tell me I was depressed. However, I did know depression ran in my family and that I was prone to it. I knew what depression looked like, but I didn’t realize that was what I was going through until months later. As of 2024 about 30 million Americans live with an eating disorder. I guess I’ll never know if I was developing one, but I always knew my body, and at the time it didn’t feel right. I say this to say: mental brain freeze exists too, and because they are mental, we are less likely to react. We can feel it, but because it doesn’t physically cause harm, it’s just pushed under the radar.
Aside from people simply going undiagnosed for the challenges they may or may not know they are facing, some people simply just don’t feel the need to talk about it. I had been very silent through this experience, but I believe that was because it wasn’t my first. I had dealt with something similar years prior which resulted in my mom putting me in therapy. I hated therapy. Talking about what I was going through just wasn’t something I liked to do. However, I am forever grateful that she did because I learned about myself through that experience.
Now I’m left wondering if my childhood is something that I should be grasping so tightly. Is adulthood really that bad, or am I just in a gray area in my life where everything seems worse than it is? As the saying goes, “ignorance is bliss.” Perhaps I glorify childhood so much because I was just so oblivious to the world around me. It’s not that all these heavy topics didn’t exist when I was younger; I just knew nothing of them and I didn’t care to know.
Growing older and being exposed to new concepts and ideas would naturally result in a loss of innocence. That wasn’t something that was just specific to me; it's a part of life. Adulthood is definitely more complex, but it doesn’t have to be scary. It’s time to loosen my grip on the past and start reaching out towards my future.
Now I’m left wondering if my childhood is something that I should be grasping so tightly. Is adulthood really that bad, or am I just in a gray area in my life where everything seems worse than it is? As the saying goes, “ignorance is bliss.” Perhaps I glorify childhood so much because I was just so oblivious to the world around me. It’s not that all these heavy topics didn’t exist when I was younger; I just knew nothing of them and I didn’t care to know.
Growing older and being exposed to new concepts and ideas would naturally result in a loss of innocence. That wasn’t something that was just specific to me; it's a part of life. Adulthood is definitely more complex, but it doesn’t have to be scary. It’s time to loosen my grip on the past and start reaching out towards my future.