Twelve chips, three double-stuffed Oreos, and a slice of extra cheese pizza with pepperoni does not make a good lunch, but it’s what I had today.

My friends and I pass the pizza, fried chicken fingers, french fries, chocolate chip cookies, and a variety of chips along the lunch counter ... we pass the salads and sandwiches too. I get the pizza, one friend gets the usual chicken fingers and fries, and my other friend chooses a dessert for lunch. School lunches are getting more and more unhealthy, as are the students who are eating them.

But really if you give us teens a choice to eat wholesome foods or a chocolate fudge brownie with mini chocolate chips, it’s not really a choice for most of us. It’s kind of like asking if we want to do homework on a snow day. It’s not gonna happen. I’m not saying my friends and I don’t want to eat healthy. I’m just saying it’s too tempting not to.

I started thinking about my diet when I was told I had low iron. The week I decided to consume a proper diet was during Student Appreciation Week at my school, which included an ice cream bar at lunch. I bit my lip as all of my friends returned with brightly colored bowls piled high with crumbled Oreos, chocolate chips, fudge toppings, and rainbow sprinkles. I begrudgingly munched my celery sticks and faked a smile to my friends. Suck it up, Maria, I told myself sternly. Deal with it.

Why must we celebrate with unhealthy eating? Almost all school celebrations — basketball games, plays, school recitals — involve foods harmful to our health, yet we continue to eat them. Isn’t there a healthier way to enjoy ourselves? Aren’t schools supposed to help you make smart choices?

At my former school, I witnessed two older students petitioning for healthier lunches. Students who ordered lunch were given some not-so-healthy options: chicken nuggets, soft drinks, pizza, and chips.

A few months later, this was changed to a well rounded meal including fruits, veggies, whole grains, dairy, and some type of protein. Unhealthy lunches were replaced with healthy lunches. No options.

When students took the initiative to demand healthy lunches, change happened and maybe that’s where the responsibility lies — with the students. Maybe that’s when real change will occur.

I’m finding out that many small changes add up to big results. When I started eating healthier, I chose roast beef over pizza to help build my iron. I also switched out the sour cream and onion potato chips for Smartfood to go with my wrap at lunch. Fewer calories, less fat, lower sodium. Hey, it’s a start.

Although my friends and I, like many teens, find eating healthy lunches difficult, we must be the ones responsible. We must be the ones deciding our own future.

Really, who hasn’t eaten a whole bag of junk food? Everyone I know has confessed to finishing the entire box of Mike ‘n Ikes, or emptying the bag of popcorn for movie night, or snagging another birthday cupcake at lunch. So I’m in good company. It’s okay to eat junk food with lunch . . . just not the whole bag. Be smart.

Maria S. Proulx is a St. Bernard School student from Gales Ferry.