Surprises

Posted by Jessy Tapper on Aug 2, 2012 in Jessy Tapper, Life | 2 comments

I really don’t understand how anyone can say they hate surprises. WHY? You hate the idea of someone wanting to plan something nice for you? You just don’t like the thought of being caught off guard by awesomeness? To anyone that says they don’t like surprises, I say you must suck.

Surprises are great. I don’t think there’s anything I love more in the world than a well-executed surprise. I love planning them; I love being a part of them; and mostly, I love being on the receiving end of them. I’ve had one surprise party in my life (junior year of high school I think), and it’s still one of my favorite birthdays to date. There’s not much that can beat the feeling of getting tackled by upwards of 10 of your best friends while getting the shit scared out of you, and I mean that in all seriousness.

Sure, there’s something creepy about hiding in a dark room, waiting for an unsuspecting victim to enter for the pure purpose of scaring him or her half to death. But, I also think it’s creepy when you think about welcoming a stranger in a red jumpsuit to pull a B&E through your chimney one night every year. It’s all about context, my friends.

Surprises make me think of love. They inevitably take a lot of planning, and I can’t speak for anyone else, but I don’t want to plan shit for you if I don’t like you. But, if I love you, I would basically plan a rock concert in my bedroom if it meant seeing a guaranteed smile on your face as you unknowingly walk in. It all reminds of that Blink-182 song: “surprises let me know she cares.” So true, Blink-182, so true. I think it goes back to the idea of obligation. Birthday presents and flowers on Valentine ’s Day are nice and all, but they’re expected. Surprises are that extra oomph, that above and beyond gesture that say, a card just wouldn’t cut it this year.

When someone takes the time and effort to surprise me, I melt. Plain and simple. I love knowing I occupied some space in their mind for at least a little bit while they were planning, and I love the fact that they know me well enough to know that I fucking love surprises, and to know what I like without having to ask. That’s the other really cool part about surprises. You have to genuinely know the other person in order for everything to go perfectly. You have to be able to ask yourself the question, “What would they like best?” and answer it without any hesitation.  And that’s what we’re all really looking for, right? To just be understood.