Story by Saja Saad, Lakeville; Edited by Lale Akkin, Mounds View; Image by Lindley Johnson, Shakopee
“Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought,” Albert Einstein said. Einstein’s quote explains how creativity is an essential part of YIG in many ways. Not only is creativity needed for bill writing and debating, but it is an absolute necessity for brainstorming ways to heat up food. Rooms at the Hilton Hotel have no microwaves. Seeing ways people heat up their food without a microwave is a very intriguing experience.
Lindley Johnson from the Shakopee Delegation stated, “The ultimate breakfast strategy is, you have your instant oatmeal right, and you get a cup, like one of the little glass cups, then you fill it up with the hot water from the coffee machines, pour it in your instant oatmeal, then put a Poptart over your cup. So as the steam goes through, it heats up the Poptart so you have a warm Poptart and oatmeal for breakfast.” This can be a great tip for delegates who need a simple yet clever breakfast idea.
On the other hand, some people get more creative with making breakfast. Delegate Allie Meyer from the Shakopee Delegation shared, “Every morning I eat a bagel, and so what I do is I take the iron in my room, and I wash it first of course, I wipe it down with a wet paper towel, and then I get out the ironing board because I’m too scared to iron it on the floor. And I put the bagel down and I put a paper towel between the iron and the bagel and I just press it really hard. And it works great, I’ve done this every year so far!”
Those are a couple of breakfast ideas, but here are what some delegates do for snacks. Finn Foat from the Nova Delegation explained, “A roommate’s dad gave them a box of military rations to bring, and you’re supposed to heat them up and put water in them. So there’s no microwaves in the room so basically I think they bring a heating pad.” That out-of-the-box example may spark some ideas for the next conference. While Gabriel Peterson from the Hastings Delegation said, “someone brought a toaster with them,” Rowan Hailey, also from the Hastings Delegation, says “using a hair dryer or running it under warm water.” Another interesting idea comes from Eshaan Ambrose of the Orono Delegation; “the strangest way I’ve seen people heat up food is by using hot bath water.”
Delegates have lots of creativity when it comes to making sure they have heated food during the conference. Maybe this will spark some wonderful ideas of your own for the future.