By Ananda Ramseur, Zöe Morgan, Kayla Ferreira, Aliyah Kimmey | Photos by Nikhil Stride

Three and half years into their living arrangements, now-cemented best friends Ananda, Zöe, Kayla, and Aliyah use dinners to celebrate the most minute occasion. 

A mashup of words from Thanksgiving (Friendsgiving) to Valentine’s Day (Galentines) traditions today includes friends communing around the dinner table. For three years, the four Temple University off-campus roommates have been celebrating newly popular holidays, birthdays, or at least a weekly check-in amongst themselves. 

With words of overwhelming gratitude for each other, we dive into their friendship designed to be a sisterhood that’ll last a lifetime. 

“We have dinner with each other often.  Whether it’s takeout from Maxwell’s or one of us is cooking, we definitely spend time with each other around a dinner table,”

Ananda adds, “Typically, I cook dinner and the others assist! They are excellent sous chefs. A meal made by me is typically the key to everyone’s heart!”

Aliyah continues to share that they sometimes include an exercise called, Pit and Peak throughout dinner – “we talk about our pit, which is our low of the day/week, and our peak, which is our high of the day/week.”

It’s not often easy to create space for vulnerability and then growth in most living situations, but Zöe confirmed that they were more than just living together, “We are roommates but we are also all best friends”

When asked what they were thankful for in each other, Aliyah shares, “I’m most grateful for the support system I have. I know that I have roommates who make sure I’m doing okay and genuinely care about not only me but the things I do as well. We’re constantly congratulating and helping each other out and it’s an all-around positive environment to grow in.”

Ananda adds “I’m thankful for the kind, selfless hearts that each one of my roommates has. They are all great, empathetic people who are caring and loving.”

Kayla offered some additional insight by sharing this, “Living with other people may be difficult for others, but there’s never any conflict living with my roommates. Communication is key!”

And Zöe summed it up beautifully, “They’re my family away from home.”

So with Tacos, Signature Cocktails, Laughter, and the spirit of love, happiness, and gratitude they dove into how they brought their different backgrounds and dining experiences to their table. They all love the Curry Chicken at Maxwell’s, a local Jamaican Restaurant, and Kayla will usually opt for the Oxtails. 

Kayla brings her Chilean and Portuguese background but adds “I am definitely not the cook of the house but I usually will cook some of the sides. I learned that from my mom and mainly use what she uses. If I were to cook more (which I should learn) I’d definitely be calling Mom up.  She is from Chile and my dad is Portuguese. Luckily for me, my mom learned to cook dishes from both places.”

Ananda who does most of the cooking says, “I personally bring my different experiences with food to our kitchen. I was taught to cook by my mom and grandma so I typically bring those authentic roots to each meal but oftentimes I do test my own spin on things!”

Aliyah, “I learned to cook mostly from my mother. The recipes I’ve learned from her are cultural recipes that have been passed from generations down. As a Haitian woman, she mostly cooks Caribbean food and will add an American twist when necessary. Growing up in a household that cooked American foods (due to my father) and Haitian foods (mother), strongly influenced my taste palette. I prefer to eat Caribbean and soul food over anything else.”

Zöe is also inspired by her Jamaican Grandmother’s food, and by her dad himself. “My dad is a self-taught chef and my extended family cooks and bakes. I learned to cook from watching my parents, aunts, and going to my dad’s restaurant.”

They do maintain a sense of balance, especially since Ananda Ramseur, a CEO in college has her own line of pressed juices that she retails.

“We discuss the different ingredients we put in our food and look for healthy alternatives”, says Zöe. 

Whenever special occasions are coming up, they make the adjustments they need to and create the opportunities to indulge without guilt.

These phenomenal young women show us that being away from the comforts of home requires nothing more than each other. From the meals they share to the memories they create, this crew from Temple definitely shows us how to make the dinner table a recipe for true friendship.

---

More on college students and diet