The Substitute Nachos

You know that feeling when you walk into class and realize your teacher isn’t there — and in their place stands someone holding a stack of worksheets and the purest look of panic? That’s the energy of The Substitute Nachos. They might not be what you planned, but they’re here, and they’re doing their best.

Substitute Nachos are what happen when you don’t have all the right ingredients but you’re too hungry to care. Maybe you ran out of cheese and used shredded string cheese. Maybe you swapped the beef for leftover chicken nuggets. Maybe your salsa is just ketchup and optimism. And yet, against all odds, it still works. It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough to get you through.

The best thing about Substitute Nachos is how earnestly they try. They don’t have the finesse of restaurant nachos or the confidence of game-day nachos. They just show up, hold it together with what little cheese they have, and hope you pass the test. And honestly, that’s all any of us can do.

So next time you cobble together a questionable nacho platter from whatever’s left in your fridge, give it a little respect. It may not be the nacho you wanted, but it’s the nacho you needed — and like every good substitute, it deserves a round of applause for surviving the day.