In my time at Brandeis so far, I had tried almost every food that was offered on campus. One of the few things that I hadn’t tried was the sushi offered at the Kosher Table in Sherman Dining Hall. I was scared to try it. I’d never had sushi before. I know it contains raw fish. After all, we’ve all heard horror stories of “gas station sushi,” and the Brandeis dining halls aren’t exactly known for having the best food in the world. In my mind, it was just a little bit too risky to try the sushi. 

But one day, when none of the other options in the dining hall were particularly appealing, I figured that I should give it a try. People here ate sushi every day with no problems. Why would it be any different for me? So I ventured down to Sherm and ordered some sushi (salmon rolls, to be specific). I grabbed some water and walked to a table, ready to try sushi for the very first time. 

Not only did it not make me sick, the sushi tasted excellent. I was so happy. I had finally found some good food at the Brandeis dining halls. Not only that, I’d found some really good food in general. A food that I’d be willing to eat outside of Brandeis (although that willingness did go down after I looked at some of the prices for sushi around here). Since that day when I first tried sushi just two weeks ago, I’ve ventured down to Sherm six separate times just to grab some sushi. And since I live in Skyline, I have to walk past the other dining hall to get there.

If you have not yet tried the sushi here on campus, you should do so as soon as possible. I promise you that it’s worth it. But there’s a bigger lesson to be learned from my experience with sushi: step out of your comfort zone. Try a new food. Take a class in a subject that you know nothing about. Play a new game despite not knowing the rules. Talk to someone new. Whatever it is that you’ve been waiting to do because you’re too scared, just go out and do it. After all, what’s the worst that can happen?