Which of these strawberries tasted better?

The sweetest strawberry is not always the largest, the smallest, or even the reddest. Sweetness has little to do with size or ripeness. There are much more reliable ways to tell which strawberry will taste the best than its color or size AND I have an insider secret that will give you the power to select the sweetest strawberry every time. What I'm about to tell you will revolutionize the way you pick strawberries.

But why should you believe the writer of Frequently Alyssa Questions? You probably shouldn't. For all you know, she's just a random American that knows nothing about strawberries. Well, why do we believe anyone? Teachers, doctors, and Home Depot employees all have implied credibility. They have knowledge and experience in their area of expertise.

Before you hear my strawberry secret, I've got to establish my own credibility or else you won't believe me. To give a strawberry expert credibility, it would help if she worked at a you-pick strawberry farm for four years. She should also eat at least a quart of strawberries a week, and have off-season experience. A real strawberry expert would have only driven to Wegmans eight times total without purchasing strawberries.

Here it is...You can see on the left strawberry, the distance from the bottom of the stem to the first seed (the neck) is longer that on the strawberry on the right.  You'll also notice that the leaves on the left strawberry's stem point upwards (a wide leaf angle) instead of being flush against the strawberry like on the right.

A longer neck and a wider leaf angle = A sweeter strawberry

• Teachers went to school for years to learn all about the subject they teach. I am not questioning the intelligence of my friends that are teachers, but they are just people that aren't always right. And they learned what they know from other teachers who are also people that aren't always right.
• Doctors have refused to take x-rays on broken bones only to discover later that the bones were broken.
• I'm not even going to get into Home Depot employees.

The writer of this blog might be a credible strawberry expert, but like teachers, doctors, and Home Depot employees, she's also still a person that isn't always right. So, the best way to know if she's right is to use your own logic to prove it. I say the strawberry on the left is sweeter, but don't take my word for it...go test it for yourself!

What do you want to do now?

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’ve already put up with (insert agonizing class that you wish you never signed up for here) for so long, I might as well finish,” or “I know this person makes me unhappy, but I’ve been with him/her so long that I can’t stop seeing them now,” or maybe you didn’t actually even think about it, but you ate food that you already paid for even though it wasn’t that delicious once you got it. Have you ever really thought about why you do these things?

An economist would argue that what you’ve already done is a sunk cost, and thus shouldn’t affect your future decisions. So it shouldn’t matter that you suffered in the past through that boring economics class, an unhappy relationship, or buying bad food. You’ve already paid for it in the form of wasting your life. Instead, you should think about what you want to do now. If you want to change your major, end a torturous relationship, or order a different meal, you can do it! No matter what, you can’t get back those hours you spent on painful econ homework, you can’t get back the unhappy years you spent with someone, and you can’t get back the money you spent on the meal you don’t want. The only things to do now are to cut your losses and make new decisions. Next time, instead of saying, “I’ve already paid for it, I might as well finish it,” maybe you should say, “I’ve already paid for it and enough is enough!”

This can also be applied to other traditions. This doesn’t mean you should stop following traditions altogether. But think about why you follow them. “I’ve always shaved my legs,” “I’ve always drank (drunken?) milk,” or “I’ve never done yoga.” Are you following traditions just because you always have, or because it’s what you actually want to do now? Decide which ones you really want to follow. For the record, I do shave my legs, but I don’t drink milk and I do yoga.