This Is the End.
The Last Bite
An ending we all face multiple times a day is the final bite of a meal or snack. Many people process even this mundane ending differently. To find out how individuals react to this particular finale, I prompted eight friends with the following: Describe the feeling you get when you reach the last bite of something you really enjoy eating.
Clay Behrman, 21
"That's the worst feeling ever. Especially when you're so hungry and you eat it so fast so you don't even know you're full yet. For me, I would say, it's gotta be like a home-cooked meal. I would say my mom's pulled-chicked sandwiches. She makes really good pulled-chicken sandwiches and normally puts some veggies on the side, stuff like that. But, when I was younger, it was like there were never any leftovers because I had a brother and sister and we all would eat a ton of food, and so I would say for me it would be my mom's pulled-chicken sandwiches. For any home-cooked meals it's a bummer."
Amish Desai, 21
"Convenient 'cause I just finished lunch! I would say that it depends on what I'm eating, but assuming that it's something that I like -- like a Mani or a good pizza here -- you get that feeling when it's ending, especially if you're not full, of just wanting more. Insatiability. And for that could be lika a good pizza or a Chipotle burrito, love Chipotle, but it's that feeling of 'I want more.' It's almost selfish in a way because you already paid for something and you got exactly what you were expecting, but you want even more of it."
Roshan Ray, 21
"So I think it's similar to what I was talking about with TV shows [earlier]. You just have this sense of longing after you've spent so much time on one thing. I guess like with food it's dependent on what exactly you're eating, but after you spend so much time kind of getting used to something and you're really enjoying it and it's become kind of a part of you it becomes really difficult to give it up. So, like with food, I can always see whenever I eat like pizza or whenever I have like, you know some really really good food, once it's over you kind of want a little more. I've been known to order one slice of pizza, finish it, and go back to order more."
Reetika Purohit, 20
"I guess when I get to the end of eating a Frita at Frita Batidos... Oh my gosh. Ok, so it's kind of a mix of emotions. At that point you're already so full that if you had one more bite you probably would just collapse on the ground. But, I think the end of that is satisfying. You know that you've hit the optimal point and had there been one more bite it would have been too much, so it's kind of the right moment. The right point of satiation.
Sagar Pranav, 21
"It's probably like a nice, warm pizza when I get to last bit of crust. The crust is my favorite part so I always finish it off by nibbling on it like a mouse."
Susan Blake, 21
"It's like an excited long for more. I usually will plan it out... Or not plan it out but I'll notice before it's like halfway over and I'll be like 'Ok, this is gonna end soon,' and I'm like 'Oh, no!' and just feel really sad, but also kind of excited because the food was so good. And I also try to feel like I'm savoring every bite so I eat a little bit slower at the end. And I know you're usually so full by the end of the meal, but like Frita Batidos makes me really sad at the last bite just because there are so many flavors and it's such a full experience the whole time. And there are so many different textures, too, that it's sad when it's over. It's like a full experience ending."
Jaime Cameron, 21
"Hmm.. Well let me think, what is something that I really crave for a long time? Oh, like gummy candy. Like a bag of gummy worms. So, I'm like a big fan of saving a favorite flavor for last, like I don't ration out or slow myself down. I'm pretty bad at self-control when it comes to food. So, like I'm powering through it but the last one's gotta be the best flavor because you gotta finish with a good taste in your mouth. So it's like, all of a sudden I have a new bag, all of a sudden the bag's gone, all of a sudden there's one left in my favorite color. That one I'll try and drag out and I'm like, 'Wow, gummy bears taste really good. I didn't even really realize I was eating gummy bears because they're so good,' on that last gummy bear or worm or whatever I will eat. And then, when I'm done, frankly I have a stomach ache, but also just like a satisfied sense of -- you indulge, it's pretty harmless. I mean of all my habits, gummy bears are pretty innocent. So, it's just a sort of funny, patting-on-my-belly, I did it, it's over, couldn't do it again, probably won't want to do it again for another month, but I'm like 'good job, you let yourself indulge a little today.'"
Matthew Gold, 22
"So maybe just because it's Passover right now, but, the last bite of a food that I really enjoy is pizza. After that last bite of food it's kind of like... Well, I feel kind of guilty because I just ate like a whole slice of pizza. Or 4. Or 5. But then it's kind of like alright, that piece of pizza is just now in my memory. And it's in my stomach. And I can't see it again. And I'll never be able to have that piece of pizza. And now I'm gulty because I just had pizza."
