Forrest Gump once said life is like this – like a box of chocolates. For any student trudging through the hustle and bustle of Work Forest, life looks great from this perspective: it’s exciting and unexpected; it’s a gesture of love; it’s tasty and colorful. Quite simply you never know what you’ll get. Perhaps that’s what makes a box of chocolates such a classic Valentine’s Day gift. It’s the perfect mixture of what people want – change and consistency. Like the weather in North Carolina or themed meals in the Mag Room, chocolates are continuously unpredictable (the best of all paradoxes).
Now, if you’re like me, this is how you’ll experience this box of two-bite chocolates which so often became breakfast before my 9:30 Tuesday-Thursday: Observe box. Select a pretty one. Analyze and predict its contents. Bite off 50%. Express audible satisfaction or dismay. (“MmMm,” or “WHAT GENUIS THOUGHT TO MIX ORANGE WITH CHOCOLATE? FAIL.” This step often serves to humor my roommate.) Toss unfortunate chocolates to the trash a la Al-Farouq and debate whether to eat the other half of a good one. Or, if the chocolate is really good, debate whether to save for an ideal moment, like a study break slash viewing of – gasp! – The Bachelor.
Come to think of it, it’s ironic how close Valentine’s Day is to Lent. You stuff your face with chocolate (preferred pronunciation: “choco-latte”) three days before the 40-day season whose most popular fast, at least on Wake’s campus, is arguably going “sugar-free.” Hm. It seems like more affirmation that life really is a like a wonderful, cliché, unpredictable box of chocolates.