Composition Essay

Krista Armstrong

Composition

Giaconia

10/01/10

Stupid Cupid?

Cupid exists. Okay- so not the diaper-wearing cupid that flies around shooting arrows at people, but the cupid that is representative of love. We, as humans, have simply created this little cherub to represent what love is, so, essentially, cupid is love. Everyone, even the skeptics, have a little bit of cupid floating around inside them. No one is insusceptible to love- and love is the most real thing in the world.

Scientists and skeptics like to say that love is just a chemical reaction in our brains; it's simply neural energy snapping across a synapse, making us feel all gooey inside. Apparently, because it's only a chemical reaction, love doesn't truly exist. Well, let's think about this for a moment; what are some other things that are simply chemical reactions? Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting- these are all chemical reactions. When you taste something delicious, do you think to yourself “This doesn't actually taste good- in fact, this flavor doesn't even exist, because it's just a chemical reaction in my brain”? When you smell the sweet, fresh scent of lavender, do you say “I shouldn't bother enjoying this, because the scent doesn't exist- It's only a reaction in my brain”? Would you ever deprive yourself of the enjoyment of your favorite music, simply because hearing is a serious of vibrations, leading to a chemical reaction in your brain?

If you answer these questions with a monotone “yes”, (it has to be monotone, because you won't bother feeling one way or another about it- it's all chalked up to chemicals anyways) then you have full permission from me to disregard love as non-existent. If you're going to choose to discredit all your senses, you may as well throw love in there too. Enjoy (or don't, what's it matter anyhow?) your lackluster life.

On the other hand, if your answer to these questions was a stern, or emphatic, or joyful, or sorrowful, or lazy, or otherwise “no”, then you, my friend, know that love exists. It is just as much a chemical reaction as are tasting, smelling, and hearing- so why would anyone attempt to argue that it should not be embraced? Embrace the taste, smell, and sound of love- because, clearly, it exists.

Now, back to our dear friend Cupid- he has been built, structured, and framed precisely to represent what love is in our eyes. There are a few key things that Cupid is contrived of in every depiction; his arrow, his wings, his bow, his diaper, and his baby face. All of these things represent a part of love.

Cupid's arrow shows how we fall in love- sometimes it's messy or a little bit painful, and you never really know what hit you, much like getting hit with an arrow. His wings are how we feel when we're in love- that floaty, gooey, walking-on-air-with-my-head-in-the-clouds sort of feeling. The bow represents the time spent between you and your significant other before falling in love- you stretch and stretch yourself, to the point that it is usually awkward and uncomfortable, until finally you snap- and there you are, in love. Cupid is a baby, showing how innocent first love is- it's all about being goo-goo ga-ga over each other in the beginning. And Cupid's diaper can be both how love ends, and how love feels sometimes- pretty crappy.

But, crappy as it may seem at times, I know I've fallen in love. My boyfriend of nine months, Zach, and I have a relationship that is clearly encompassed by the Cupid depiction. When we were first friends, we were in the stretchy, uncomfortable, unsure bow-stage; I didn't want to date him, and then I did, and then I didn't, and then I did, and then... Well, eventually I snapped, and decided to date him. I hardly noticed we were falling in love until he dropped me off at an exam one day and I accidentally said “I love you” as I was climbing out of the car. I failed that exam- that was the arrow-stage. Then we were in the baby-stage- our love was pure and innocent and we had no idea what we were doing. Next came the diaper-stage- we had a lot of little tiffs, and a few large-scale fights, and it felt pretty crappy during those times. Now, Zach and I have finally joyfully settled into the wing-stage. We have our hard times, but now we have our head in the clouds and our feet on the ground. We're learning to love each other better and treat each other better every day, and it's the greatest feeling in the world, I believe. It's like- I feel like I could fly, but only because I know he'd catch me when I came tumbling down to earth.

Alright, enough of that sappiness. It all comes back to Cupid, and he doesn't get enough recognition for it. Think about it; Santa Claus represents gifts and presents, the Easter Bunny represents candy that comes out of eggs (what's with that anyways? Candy doesn't come out of eggs, and bunnies are mammals- they don't lay eggs) and the Tooth Fairy is all about leaving you money for your teeth (I hope she isn't collecting them to be recycled). Cupid represents love- something we all experience in one form or another in our lives, something we all value, something that every last one of us can relate to. He definitely deserves more credit than he's given.

Love is the most real thing there is- we all will experience it at some point, and we should make note to enjoy it as much as we can, because you don't choose not to enjoy pie just because it involves your brain to interpret that it is good. Cupid, in all his diapered-baby glory, is a brilliant depiction of what love is, and because of this, he exists in one form- the form of love.