Let’s talk about trees for a second—specifically, fruit-bearing trees. There are certain trees that bear fruit in the summer, others that do so in the spring and yet another group that produces in the fall. When they are not producing or attempting to produce, generally during the winter, they lie dormant. Their leaves fall on the street, are swept up, and thrown away. These trees do not force themselves to bear fruit in the winter; it would be against their nature. Fruits have seasons for a reason, people. Have you ever tried to eat a blueberry in the winter? You have to get them from Chile, and they taste like the airplane fuel that got them here.

The analogy I am about to make is going to blow your mind: Most people are like fruit-bearing trees. They need some time to recharge their batteries before waking up and supplying the world with an abundance of apples, pears, oranges, you name it. We can’t possibly produce on the same level year-round, nor would we want to. That is against our nature. I, for one, cannot bear metaphorical fruit all the time.

Of course, there are trees that remain the same throughout the four seasons but do not bear fruit at all: evergreens. But if you think that these evergreens are ideal, think again. They are only good for two things: Christmas trees and ski-slopes. Sure, they may smell nice, but if you really care all that much, you can just buy one of those air fresheners that taxi drivers hang from their rearview mirrors. They are prickly, and when you put them in your house, they shed pine needles and create unavoidable messiness and a hazard to the soles of your feet. Now, I’m Jewish so I have never personally experienced this, but I hear it is an absolute horror. What is most upsetting about these trees is that they aren’t all that pretty.

Likewise, there are people one could equate to evergreens. These people have the ability to produce consistently but would you want to produce on the same “just fine” level for your entire life? The evergreen people will always say “just fine” things and contribute to society in a “just fine” way. But mediocrity is not the goal of life. There is a certain lack of creativity, a lack of sweet, juicy substance associated with the aforementioned people. Once you have seen one of them, you have seen all of them; they are completely forgettable.

It is not my aim to rage against “the man”; my father falls into this category and I love him very much. But when we break down this entire situation, it is easy to say that society expects each of us, the alleged crème de la crème, to be a blend of evergreen and fruit-bearing trees. We are supposed to be both creative and productive all of the time. But this is impossible. A fruit-bearing tree is at odds with an evergreen tree, to its core. To create a hybrid of the two would be a travesty. Creativity cannot be ripened out of thin air.

But before you discount the winter lull and attempt to bear your mediocre fruit all year long, consider this: Is it really so bad that creative downtime exists? Without winter, would spring, summer and fall be as sweet as they are? I highly doubt it. Winter is tough. Winter is bland. But sometimes, we need to take a little time off to ensure that our fruit is succulent and sensational.

Disclaimer: Normally I write about things that don’t really matter much (i.e. Comcast and being sexiled). But when I told Micah Fredman BC ‘10 what I planned to write about for this week, he asked me to write about something of substance for once. So I thought I would go ahead and try it out. He would have written this column himself but is currently without the ability to bear fruit. Would you please let me know if I should revert back to writing about lollipops and gummy-bears? Thanks.