I used to eat McDonald’s a lot, probably every week as a kid. My mom didn’t cook on Fridays, so we always ate out. As a child, Friday gave me a bad case of Alice in Wonderland syndrome – the day seemed larger than life. Friday took longer to get to than the days in between, and it lasted longer too.

Friday opened the door to a long, adventurous weekend and another Happy Meal. I got a Happy Meal for what felt like every Friday, for several years; so many that when I’d get a repeat of a toy, my mom used to ask the employees if I could get a different one… so many that my mom had a box full of nearly 150 toys that I had repeats that she used to give to my younger cousins when they’d come over.

Even when the Happy Meals stopped as I got older, when my dad would pick me up from school my freshman year of high school he’d let me drive home and we’d almost always stop at McDonald’s for a 20-piece nugget.

 Now that I’ve stopped craving nuggets and I claim to “not eat McDonald’s”, you can often see me with a large Coke and fry, a caramel frappe, or some hash browns.

I lived in Greensboro for two years. That entire two years it felt like any and all restaurants closed at 9 P.M.

There were no late-night eats for the kid so that large fry and large Coke was tried and true.

When I was a kid, there used to be a McDonald’s in Midway Aiport in Chicago, and even now that it’s been removed — for some reason, I still get to the airport looking for the McDonald’s in there. That has nothing to do with the shot below, the suitcase reminds me of the good days when I could get some hashbrowns and orange juice on my way to Cali.

I feel like McDonald’s has always been my most reliable option when I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted when I would rush out of the house in the morning during my high school days, or when I’m always leaving out the house late for plans with my friends.

“I don’t eat McDonald’s but…” is a project made with the help of Soular Lab

Creative Director: Courtney Fields

Art Director: Arial Robinson

Copywriter: Courtney Fields

Photographers: Arial Robinson, Courtney Fields