'Tis the season. What season, you ask? Well, that is a really good question. Given that the worst of all forms of precipitation, the "wintery mix," fell on Halloween, it could be winter. According to the fact that this happened on Halloween, however, it is definitely late October-early November. Considering how many exams we have had peppered - get it? Pepper is a season[ing] - throughout these last few weeks and how many papers we will have these next couple, it could be the calm between midterm season and finals season. While there are plentiful examples for each of these cases, however, the real season we have just entered supersedes all others - Starbucks Red Cup Season. And I hate it.
On the day Starbucks launched this campaign, my Twitter feed was filled with, "awww, Starbies red cups are back! #xoxoxolove" and "Starbucks red cups! Time for Christmas carols and/or Chanukah dreidel songs #politicallycorrecttweet." I did order a pumpkin spice latte that day, and to receive it in a red cup with snowflakes made me question my flavor choice. The Christmas song goes, "chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose," not "pumpkins roasting on an open fire, Jack-o-Lanterns nipping at your scandalous costume's fishnet pantyhose." The red cups are wrong. Premature and wrong.
This is not to say that I hate all red cups outside of the Solo form, but rather that the premature introduction of these cups forces everyone to live in the future. If we live all of October and November as though it is the Christmas season, then we do not live in the moment. There is this other holiday, and I am not sure if you have heard of it, but it is called Thanksgiving and it occurs at the end of November. Starbucks, if being true to the holiday calendar, really needs to consider a turkey-themed tall and perhaps a gravy grande. I understand that seeing red cups in November gives consumers something to which they can look forward. The winter holidays are indeed the most wonderful time of the year, but it makes all things more special if you can cherish them while they last instead of dispersing their joy throughout too long of a period. If anything, we should prematurely think about Thanksgiving so that way we can be thankful for our privileges before a day requires that we be.
At school, especially when academics get stressful, we tend to wish for the next break. This is surely a good coping mechanism to get through the rough patches, but if we always live with the next break or holiday in mind, then we fail to live in the moment and appreciate even the late nights in Clemons. We cannot wait to be home for Winter Break. Then, we cannot wait for next Monday for these exams to be done. Well, then we cannot wait until we graduate and move to the real world. This is not the right way to experience college, wanting to fast forward from one reprieve to the next.
Instead, take a few minutes to just imprint whatever you are doing in your memory - if you are studying in the McGregor Room like I was last Saturday morning, take a mental picture of the light coming unevenly through the windows to shine in select spaces. Even take note of the sporadic coughs coming from one study companion, and remember the feeling of wanting to strangle him and force-feed him Dayquil. These are the moments to remember. And if you happen to be sipping out of a red cup dreaming of the winter holidays, at least take a moment to gather your bearings and appreciate your reality. The Rotunda will stand on these grounds forever, but you will not. So, while you're at it, the next time you stroll the Lawn, stop for a moment and just take it all in. Red cups or not, 'tis always the season to be where your feet are.
E.P.'s column runs biweekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at e.stonehill@cavalierdaily.com.
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