Freshmen, I would first like to extend a welcome. It’s always nice to return to find 400 taller and older looking guys roaming campus who are allegedly younger than me (there is no way that one guy is 18).

Now, today’s lunch is probably not your first in the World Famous Bean. You enjoyed its range of deliciously digestible dishes when you first visited campus and during Welcome Week. You’ve sampled foods from every counter unless, like me, you prefer to stick to Captain Crunch and the dessert line. And, if you are anything like I was coming into my first year (awkward) then you may have a lofty impression of our renowned cafeteria.

But you are just a baby in the world of Wildcat cuisine, and I’ve always been skeptical of opinions formed by someone who can’t even talk yet. So there is something you need to learn: purple-shirted student tour guides, ACU logo-ed golf carts and a flock (or is it a herd?) of prospective students not only signals a Wildcat Preview Day but also signals the peak of the Bean’s culinary performance.

Of course, I don’t want to criticize the Bean. If it weren’t for our beloved cafeteria, my freshman year diet would have consisted of something like microwaveable gas station burritos and ketchup packets. You just can’t always be on top. Ask the US economy, the Dallas Cowboys or my first year roommate who I forced to sleep in the bottom bunk (I sleep better at high altitudes, Brian). But that doesn’t stop all those things from being great.

So when the Bean doesn’t serve you the filet mignon and shrimp you ate during your visit, don’t be mad. Instead, enjoy the convenience of paying with Meal Plans (it doesn’t even feel like you’re spending money). Be thankful that you can have scrambled eggs waiting for you five minutes before your 8 a.m. class. Relish in a selection that allows your taste buds to visit multiple continents. Get creative with your culinary combinations (ice cream cookie sandwich, you’ll thank me later). Finally, appreciate that you can have chocolate milk for every meal.

And when golf carts full of high school seniors make you late to class, at least you can take pleasure in the fact that today, the World Famous Bean will be even better than usual.