“Life is like a box of chocolate,” and the volume of options we have every day directly correlates with the decisions we make.
Like the many available choices you have when you take off the top on a box of assorted chocolates, deciding what to do or what to choose is not always easy.
Sometimes you are given an instruction sheet as to which chocolates are where so that you may choose which ones will satisfy your craving. Other times you are left high and dry to pick and choose blindly.
In many ways, love is like a box of chocolates. Perhaps you prefer the rich taste of melt-in-your-mouth dark, the sweet and creamy white or the exotic ‘I-don’t-speak-much-English’ fruity chocolate.
Either way, we all have to make the decisions as to which flavor we want in our mouths, and it isn’t always an easy choice.
As we work our way through each row and layer of available flavors, we decide whether or not to try a particular chocolate, many times simply by the outer appearance.
If the chocolate looks unappealing, some people throw it out, bypass it, give it a little lick for good measure, but rarely do they dive right in to take a bite.
Because of this impulse, many commodities are left untouched and alone. Before you ignore that odd-looking chocolate, take a closer look and you might find yourself a gem.
I was sitting in a Microeconomics lecture the other day, and the whole time, all I could think about was love.
The term ‘Marginal Decision Making’ ran through my head: weighing marginal costs and benefits of a decision. As the professor continued the lecture, I started to think.
In life, we are all handed our own box of assorted chocolates.
When we look into what lies below the cover, we must immediately make a selection. We are given these options to work with, and it seems as if we must weigh the cost and benefits of choosing a certain chocolate.
Will this one cause me to gain weight? Will this one have a horrible after taste? These are often same reasons we close our hearts to love, because we are not sure if the possibility of pain is worth the experience.
For the students on campus, our boxes of chocolates are extremely diverse. They are made up of flavors from all over the world. Occasionally, you get bored with your options and begin dipping into others’ boxes.
This natural search for the perfect chocolate will continue until that special one is finally found. Some people have strong cravings that push them to bite into more than one flavor at once, leaving their mark in as much as they can. These risky people aren’t interested in which flavor wins the award for most appetizing.
They want it all and they don’t care how they get it. Of course, there are those people who find their favorite and stick to it. Have you ever met someone who goes into an ice cream shop and always gets the same flavor? Sure, they might randomly ask to try the crazy new Superman flavor, but when it comes right down to it, they are not leaving their comfort zone. These people are the ones who find their chocolate and stick with it — through thick or thin.
The second moral I learnt during the lesson was: Value is Subjective — some things are more important to certain people than others. The value of the chocolates in your box all depends on your personal styles and taste buds.
To you, Mr. Exotic Raspberry might sound perfect, but to him, Miss Sweet and Creamy White is what will be coming home with him tonight. Sometimes this value lasts a lifetime and the marginal cost is worth the pleasure. Other times, the value is only there for the night, a mere midnight snack.
Take the time while you’re in college to enjoy the different options, but always remember that if your true love doesn’t appear in your box you are still young and resilient, and there is still much variety in the world around you.
Often times we all get too wrapped up in the movies and television shows that depict love as something we must have now.
In our culture, instant gratification lurks and creates unnecessary stress for people who want it now, who want their happy ending now. Life is all about growth and self-discovery, so taste the flavors, go wild, and when you do find that favorite, always keep it around because we all know that yummy “chocolate” is hard to beat!
Taylor Kelly can be reached at taylormatthewkelly@hotmail.com.
Lovely Article, Taylor. I really enjoyed reading it.
Why does this feel like a confession for miss vanilla here being all over black men?