Hot Chocolate

My English Comp 2 professor has assigned us a paper on anything we want to write about. But, first, let us revel in the fact that it is English Comp TWO and I bask in my superiority. Ahem…sorry I’m back.

 Our assignment is to write a paper with a thesis. A thesis being an idea. But, not an idea with a concrete basis. Like “Hot chocolate is my favorite drink” Having a thesis means that it is persuasive.  This means that it is debatable. I have no idea why anyone would want to debate something I say but whatever I’m not the teacher.  Her example was “Hot chocolate is the best drink in the world.” She then said that she didn’t believe we could write three to four pages on that thesis so we needed to pick something else. Well you know me I can ramble on about anything for as long as the reader in my head stays interested. And, since the reader in my head thinks I am vastly interesting and wildly entertaining I said, “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!” Of course once I got this idea in my head I couldn’t go to sleep until I at least got the idea down on paper.  As you all should know by now I get my best ideas when I am trying to sleep. So with no further ado I give you…

Hot Chocolate’s Superiority Above All Other Drinks

Hot chocolate is the best drink in the world. There are many reasons that support my theory. I will be discussing a few of them here. Hot chocolate is delicious. It evokes many childhood memories. It can be garnished with any number of things. It is hot.

Hot chocolate is delicious. It is warm and creamy. It is made out of chocolate. Seriously what more do you need to know? Let me repeat that….it is made out of chocolate. Chocolate is the ultimate comfort food. I know I know there are some people who don’t like chocolate. I question whether those people are really people. I believe they are cyborgs created by the people who make non chocolate candy. Like the saltwater taffy people got together to try and infiltrate our collective subconscious. You will never win saltwater taffy people!

Hot chocolate evokes many happy memories for people. One of my fondest memories of childhood is coming in from playing in the snow to a big pot of hot chocolate. We actually had snow back then. My dad would make it in a huge beat up pot he has had forever. I can still see that pot in my mind. It is also the one he would make chicken and dumplings in. To this day I have never tasted hot chocolate as good as my dad makes it. The secret ingredient is love as they say. Actually I think the secret ingredient was a truckload of sugar. What kind of crazy parent brings their kids inside on a snowy day and sugars them up? My dad that’s who. Then he would send us to the basement where we would attempt to kill ourselves and each other. Usually by performing some sort of wild circus stunt. We were X Games babies before there were X Games.

But, maybe your memories of hot chocolate have nothing to do with mayhem and bodily harm. Perhaps your favorite memory is of sipping hot chocolate with the boy you like while riding in the back of a hay wagon. If this is so please tell me where you live because I want to visit. Or maybe you shouldn’t. My family tends to create havoc wherever we go. It is fun havoc but havoc none the less. What is your favorite hot chocolate memory?

Hot chocolate can be garnished with anything. Want a little, or a lot, of extra sugar? Add marshmallows. Which get all melty and stringy and make the drinking of the hot chocolate even more fun. You can put some peppermint in there. Maybe even a candy cane if you’re feeling all fancy. That’s assuming that your four X Games sugar addicts haven’t eaten them all. I personally like amaretto coffee creamer in mine. It gives it a lovely nutty taste. For the adults in your group you can spike your hot chocolate with almost any alcohol. Bailey’s Irish Cream, rum, vodka, or even the alcoholic version of amaretto. The sky is the limit. I wouldn’t use wine though. I doubt that would taste very good. Adding alcohol has the added benefit of making you not care that your children are attempting to break Evil Kneivel’s jump record in the basement.  And hey if you need to add wine to it…well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Being snowed in for a week with four children definitely counts as desperate. Especially when those children were me and my brothers and sisters. The funny thing is neither of my parents drink. No wonder they yelled all the time. We were very trying children.

Hot chocolate is hot. I asked a nine year old I know what his favorite thing is about hot chocolate and he said. “I usually drink it in the winter. It’s hot so it warms me up from the inside.” He then informed me that since he helped me with my work I have to help him with his. Kids are mercenary little creatures.

Hot chocolate gets those fingers and toes ready for another go round outside on a cold winter’s day. I can’t think of another drink that a child will drink hot. Coffee is out of the question for children. Especially if you are snowed in.  I don’t know a lot of kids that will drink hot tea. Even if they will they’re going to want a lot of sugar in it. You might as well sugar them up with something they enjoy.  I think I finally understand the point. You sugar and warm them up so that they want to go back outside and aren’t underfoot all the time. Well played parents, well played.

Hot chocolate is chock full of warm and fuzzy childhood memories and love. And it makes your kids want to go outside. What more do you need to know?

Challenge accepted and crushed. I managed to ramble aimlessly for three pages. Or rather ramble with aim. My rambling usually has a point you just have to stick around and wait for it. Let’s go have some chocolate.