Who doesn’t like a stack of pancakes? The smell of sizzling buttermilk batter upon waking up would make anyone ready to jump out of bed. So there you are. You’re up and ready to face plant into a giant stack of pan-fried cake smothered in syrup, butter and possibly blueberries, if you’re feeling frisky, but beneath the toppings, you find that there is very little excitement in these round formations of butter, milk and eggs. The top pancake is saggy with syrup, while the rest of the stack hangs dry. You sit there, top pancake devoured, left to pour even more syrup on the second pancake, only to relive the cycle once it’s consumed. Pretty soon, your plate is empty, and you are left to start your day with a disproportioned syrup-to-batter ratio sitting in your stomach.

Now, to sit there and think that your sugar rush, empty bottle of syrup and lousy day could have all been avoided if you would’ve just pressed that batter into a waffle iron is depressing, but it’s a first step that you need to take. Here is why waffles, though they come second in the alphabet, should come first in your heart.

1. Syrup Convenience and Equality

Unlike its ugly cousin, waffles have convenient pockets to catch the syrup, thus making for an easy, mess-free, one-time syrup experience.

2. Equality

The pockets also encourage even distribution of syrup throughout the entirety of the waffle; when one gets full the leftovers spill into another.

3. Versatility

The cool thing about waffles is that you can put virtually anything in a waffle maker. Cook a grilled cheese on a pan, and well, all you have is a hotter grilled cheese, but grilled cheese in a waffle iron—now that’s what I’m talking about!

In addition to the endless possibilities of a waffle iron, waffles themselves are also very versatile. The four sections of the waffle make for boundless options for folding, sandwiching, and dividing. Maybe one side gets syrup and the other gets butter. Maybe you add some banana slices and peanut butter in the middle to fold into a sandwich. The four sections, when broken apart, also provide the stacking option. By breaking apart and stacking the four sections, not only will you enjoy the one perk of pancakes with the better option of a waffle, but you make pancakes completely irrelevant.

4. Size and Shape

Everyone wants abs, but let’s be honest, if you’re eating pancakes every day, you won’t have any. Waffles, however, are known as “pancakes with abs.” Therefore, if you have waffles, you will be able to, in essence, have abs.

5. Got Four Friends?

The four sections of a waffle, in addition to creating the perfect boundaries four breaking and folding, are perfect for sharing! Not that I would ever share my waffles, but if I had to, it would be way easier than trying to divide a soggy, messy stack of limp pancakes. Who am I kidding? No one would want to share that anyway.