Dairy

I'd like to start off with a random tangent, so please, stay entertained.

One of the traits of Camus's absurd hero is their love for living. While doing some additional research on Camus/s works, I discovered a phrase that really captured everything I was looking for in its three words— "joie de vivre," more or less defined as "the feeling of loving life and finding beauty in every moment." I think this year I've started to embody that love for living slightly. Call it coping or whatever, but I've definitely started to care less about the things that would've gotten me upset for a day or two and enjoyed the smaller things in life that I usually overlook.

Now back on the topic of the prompt.

I would first like to point out that although the gifts from the iconic12 Days of Christmas seem romantic, it's rather a nuisance to the receiver. Just imagine if someone actually sent 23 birds and 42 random people to your house. There'd probably be a lawsuit.

On the other hand, the eight maids a-milking are underappreciated. Think about it. These maids are practical. They're out here doing the work, no fuss, no mess. They bring dairy expertise to the table, which means cheese, butter, hot cocoa—basically all the good things in life. And let's not forget the cows that come with them. Assuming that each amid comes with a cow, that's a few thousand dollars' worth of revenue.

Unlike the squawking geese or the hyperactive leaping lords, the maids are team players. No noise, no destruction, just good old-fashioned productivity. In a lineup of wildly impractical gifts, they're the ones doing the read work. So yeah, as someone who wrote about cheese for their Common App, golden rings are great and all, but give me my dairy team any day.