There must have been a reason why you decided to read this. Maybe it was the cover. Maybe it fell out of your issue of The Maroon and you were curious. Or maybe you enjoy Wolf Magazine and were looking forward to our first issue-dining.

I love food. Cooking and eating happen to be two of my favorite things, in fact. Being vegetarian, I use this as an excuse to explore new foods and experiment with different recipes. Rather than letting college slow down my explorations, it’s been a source of encouragement.

Living on campus can make it harder to cook. But some students don’t see it that way. They embrace the community aspect of the residence halls, and that makes cooking fun (see page 8). Dining Services offered two new places for Loyola students to use their Wolfbucks, and more variety means less boredom (see page 6). Let’s not forget, food trucks have been popping up around the city out of nowhere (see page 12). Months ago they were foreign to me, and now I get excited to see one.

Food is an extremely important part of life, aside from not being able to survive without it. It creates a sense of community. It can be fun with friends. And sometimes our limitations make us better cooks.

This issue is dedicated to all the dorm room chefs, the students working hard at restaurants, the vegetarians, the vegans and the ones with celiac disease. If you love food as much as I do, this one goes out to you, too.