There are many variations of the compliment “you are a beautiful cupcake in a world of muffins,” and they all come down to the same thing. Someone is trying to tell you that you are special, you are one of a kind and you should own your stripes and be proud of your uniqueness. Nonetheless, we can all delve a litter deeper in this quote and see how it really is not the compliment we all take it to be.   

Imagine living in a world of muffins and being a cupcake: not just any cupcake, but a beautiful cupcake. First of all, you would be extremely excluded. All the little muffins go to school and spend time together while you are left alone. You try to tell yourself they are just jealous, they do not understand who you are and why you look and taste better them. In the end, you end up having a few muffin friends but clearly they only like you because of your good looks and the social capital they gain from being around you.  

Worst-case scenario, you will end up alone because you can trust no one since their intentions are unclear and live a life in solitude as a beautiful cupcake in a world of muffins. Best-case scenario, you will find a friend or two that accept your beauty and the difference you bring into their life. There may be possible mate muffins too, and you might find one you are in love with, but at the end of the day, a muffin and a cupcake can never be. Opposites may attract, but at the end of the day having a mate so different in every way will not end well. They will not understand your wants and needs because you come from two different worlds, and although both of you are great for consumption, you are a delectable dessert that is meant to be indulged and they are just a muffin, a breakfast cake.    

In a nutshell, what I am trying to say is that there is no way of ever being a “beautiful cupcake in a world full of muffins” because you would never actually want to be the beautiful cupcake in a world of muffins. Beauty is socially constructed and therefore if you live in a world full of muffins then muffins are the accepted beauty and you will be an outcast. You may be beautiful, and some muffins may appreciate your beauty and how you are different, but if you continue life in a world of muffins you will slowly lose what makes you who you are and begin to blend with them.   

It is difficult to be a beautiful cupcake in a world of muffins, maybe if you were not the only cupcake it would be easier and this “compliment” would be more of a compliment. However, as it stands, do not strive to be a beautiful cupcake in a world of muffins, you will get eaten alive.