On Saturday, April 10, I threw out everything I thought I knew about baked goods. This is because on that beautiful Saturday afternoon, I found myself enjoying a marvelous cupcake at The Cupcake Shoppe in downtown Raleigh.
Upon entering the quaint shop, I surveyed the environment. The walls of the small establishment were decorated in pink paisley wallpaper, and unusual light fixtures gave the room a sense of relaxation and welcome.
After setting myself up with a cool glass of water, I got in the zone to eat my Black and White cupcake. Choosing this cupcake was a difficult task, since The Cupcake Shoppe features 13 flavors and one flavor of the month.
Before chowing down, I admired the cupcake for its sheer artistry. In the center of the cake was a perfectly sized dollop of butter cream icing, and I could practically see the warmth radiating from the heavenly treat before me.
However, my admiring session did not last so long before my taste buds won out. I carefully peeled the wrapper off of the comfortably proportioned cupcake and sank my teeth into the scrumptious baked good. Just like that, one bite was all it took to make the stress of school and other responsibilities fly out the door. Suddenly I saw the world differently; knowing that cupcakes such as this existed in the world did nothing short of removing the blindfold I had evidently been wearing for the past 15 years.
As I rose from the table, cupcake remnants balled up in my hands, I noticed how the world had changed since before the cupcake. The sun shone a little brighter through the windows, the smiles on the faces behind the counter were brighter, and as I left the shop with a take-out Peanut Butter Cup cupcake in a bag – I knew peace.
Virginia Reed is a superb writer and an even better friend. She enjoys unhealthy foods and writing sarcastic articles. Virginia is the Online Editor for the 2011-12 school year and was a Managing Editor for the 2010-11 year but has not forgotten her humble beginnings as a staff writer when she was a wee sophomore. Her goals for the future are to get an A in newspaper and to apply to college in a timely fashion.