I learned to enjoy semi-sweet chocolate when I stayed at Nana’s (my maternal grandmother) house as a child. She always had a bowl of candy out on the endtable in the living room, and most times it was filled with those Hershey’s chocolate miniatures. For some reason, people seem to leave the semi-sweet “Special Dark” chocolates for last because it is perceived as less than desirable. I didn’t like the semi-sweet chocolate at first either, but when there’s the only thing left you can learn to like anything.

A lesson I learned: if you can learn to enjoy the things in life that are less than perfect, you can often find some sweetness (even if only semi-sweet) when most other people think that all of the good things are gone.

“I don’t care what you think.”

You hear people say that all the time, but do they really mean it? I don’t think so. There is something unique in our species, or maybe just to the average American citizen, that makes us aware of other people and how they judge us: as well desire that we be viewed in a favorable light.

What is it that makes us crave evaluation?

more things to come on this train of thought later
updated 08-04-1999