peanut m&m's

When I was 12 I became incredibly conscious of how much food each side of my jaw chewed. I would purposefully divide it equally. I was terrified that half of my teeth would wear out before the others, or that my jaw would somehow start to hang on one side if I used it too much. During this time period I began to eat peanut m&m's thus: bite off the chocolate, chew it with one side of mouth. Swallow. Chew peanut with other side of mouth. Swallow.

Ten years later, I only think about this at Christmas; the only time of the year I eat peanut m&m's in a notable quantity, because they are Christmas colors (and obviously 23948 times more enticing than usual). I can't stop myself from eating them this way. And when I do consciously try to eat them differently, it tastes wrong.

Here's to personal diagnoses of OCD and all of their manifestations.