The Only Golfer I Know is Tiger Woods
My entry to the Arnold Palmer Scholarship
Social media is all around us regardless if we would like it to be or not. All over Facebook there are comedic videos about women never knowing what we want to eat. While it is true that I never know what I want to eat; one of the first things my husband learned about me is my favorite drink. Very similar to how social media has unconsciously conditioned men to believe all women are indecisive. The way we form opinions is based on the media presented to us.
In grade school, we used to watch various movies on the history of the United States. During our unit of the American Revolution, we were made to watch a video on the events that transpired. I starkly remember the images of the American’s throwing the British tea into the ocean. At the time, I minimally understood the intended implications of their actions. However, as an 8-year-old all I was focused on the associations between tea and Americans. The conclusion I drew that day was Americans shouldn’t drink tea, as it is only for the British. Growing up in the southern United States sweet tea has been around me all my life. Crazily enough, I didn’t have my first glass until I was 19 years old.
I was lucky enough to get into my dream college Texas Tech University. It carried out all the typical Texans traditions. Football, Bar-b-que, and sweet tea. As every college student does, I primarily ate in the dining hall. On this specific day, the cafeteria happened to be out of every drink except sweet tea. Because the idea of drinking water with a meal sounded horrific to my teenage ears, I opted for the sweet tea. I sat down at my table and after my sip I fell in love. The forbidden drink had become my go to beverage.
A few years later, I receive a message from an old friend. He wanted to take me on a dinner date. We chose Texas Roadhouse. Steak n’ Potatoes with a tall glass of iced tea lemonade mix sounded right up my alley. As I head to the bathroom, I ask him to request me a sweet tea with lemonade. In the south, we call sweet tea just “tea”. So that day I technically said, “can you get me a tea lemonade”. I come back and see my glorious beverage waiting there, as if it couldn’t wait to parch my thirst. I took my first sip and was appalled at the taste. “Did you get me sweet or regular tea I say.” He replies, “you only said tea”. Petrified, I called the waiter back over so she could fix my drink. Because this was a first date, I could tell he was embarrassed by the mistake. I let him know that it was okay and told him about my history with tea. At the end of the story, he starts laughing hysterically. I let him know that ‘sweet’ tea lemonade is my preferred with my drink with my meals. This is how he learned by favorite drink. To say the date went well would be an understatement. We are now happily married.
I bet my 3rd grade teacher never would have thought that a documentary about American Revolution would lead to me and my now husband’s bond over my love for Arnold Palmers. Ironically enough, to this day I still find the words Arnold Palmer to be a tongue twister. Therefore, when ordering in public I always ask for a “SWEET tea with lemonade”.