Melissa's Travels

I've officially dubbed this summer the season of weddings. With 3 down and 3 more to go before the end of September, I'm finding myself feeling a little burnt out on wedding cake, toasts and yes, even wedding dancing is starting to bore me a little. Despite my less than enthusiastic attitude towards these celebratory events, each wedding has left me with a little bit of wisdom to walk away with. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the first wedding of the season left me reexamining my definition of the word "adventure," appreciating the friends I have and realizing that you should never trust guys at weddings who know the official toast of Spain...they will inevitably have a girlfriend that they fail to mention.

As for yesterday's wedding I discovered that acrostic poems are by far the best way to sign guest books, handwritten vows are everything they're cut out to be and weddings are quite possibly the best place to find inspiration for the founding of nonprofits. Although the wedding I attended yesterday afternoon gets gold stars for by far being the best celebration of the summer, it was a smaller, more casual wedding I attended last weekend that wins the award for wedding wisdom of the season. Rather than cake, the bride and groom had opted for cupcakes. Realizing how delicious the cupcake top would be, my friend promptly removed hers in order to save it for last. I quickly followed suit, excited to savor the sure to be delicious frosting at the last moment. Unfortunately for the two of us, we hadn't calculated just how rich and filling the bottom of the cupcake would be and by the time we came to eating the top, we were far too stuffed to even consider savoring the part we'd put aside for last. At this moment we looked at each other and simultaneously shook our heads in shame. Not necessarily because we were disappointed in the frosting we'd be missing out on, but because we'd fallen victim to the teachings of society, that saving for the future and sacrificing the possibility of enjoying the moment is admirable. We were not save the best for last kind of girls, how could we have been so foolish?

And it was in this moment that the Cupcake Philosophy on Life was officially born. It's true that it's similar to what you may have read in books like "The Power of Now," and other new age, savor the moment teachings, but I think we're the first to package this wisdom in such a sensually appealing metaphor. After sharing this experience with others, we soon realized how many other people's lives have been changed in the presence of cupcakes. I was told that organic vegan cupcakes have the power to win over girl's hearts, that cupcakes have the power to reunite families and that maybe pink frosted chocolate cupcakes are the key to ending religious and political conflicts. I personally believe that my experience of becoming Miss SEAFAIR was entirely due to the cupcake I enjoyed before hitting the stage. This is only a small sample of how cupcakes have touched the hearts and lives of others and I'm convinced that there are more stories out there to share.

Earlier this summer I had been interviewing friends and family about what they'd do if they had 3 months to live. The answers I was greeted with were unique and very telling of the individual and surely one day I'll actually compile all the responses in a blog. However, as summer draws to a close I think I'll switch my interview tactics from focusing on death to instead focusing on cupcakes. It's a much subtler way to get at the heart of what really matters to people, what gets them out of bed in the morning and helps them find peace and perspective in the lonely moments.