A sweet treat is capitalism’s love letter to academia’s vessels. After an especially challenging day, you’re encouraged to treat yourself, whether that is a pastry or a sweet drink, like a latte or other brew. The café becomes a magnetic draw of comfort, routine, and reward. Yet, behind the saccharine aesthetics and treats are greater strings tied to consumerism and the traps it quietly lays.
In the era of self-care, treating yourself has become a natural extension of self-love, though in the face of increasing prices and inflation, the price tag has grown. Selections vary, though prices for a matcha latte or a cup of boba often hover around $7, including tax. Still, the purchase is justified because it is paying for a treat that is both aesthetic and sweet. It brings joy in multiple ways, so it is worth lingering in a well-decorated space with a cozy ambience, while also enjoying a sweet treat. The combination manifests motivation to open a laptop, focus on a to-do list, and live out a Pinterest-pinned version of college life. To an extent, self-care has become commodified into cute drinks, minimalistic spaces, and productivity aesthetics.
Of course, social media is not an accurate portrayal of people’s lives, but there certainly is a draw to engage in the curated, study life, even for a day. The warm, cozy lighting with the hand-crafted green drink is captured in a snapshot, and everything is put together, even if life feels like it is not. It is a short-lived experience and a reminder of the internalized ideals of the cultural script of success.
Even more, the Ave that neighbors the University of Washington (UW) is well-imbued with a variety of cafés and boba shops, many of which are local shops that each have distinct personalities and compelling pulls to try. There is an unspoken checklist to be marked off, and doing so is for a good cause. Supporting small businesses becomes a further justification, while also providing a simultaneous familiar and novel escapade, especially when shared with friends.
But sometimes it becomes more than a treat, but a dependency. Fighting uncertainty and chronic stressors, it’s something reliable: dopamine for the brain. As midterms, finals, and back-to-back quarters of intensive school work build up, burnout sets in and high stress demands to be soothed by another sweet treat. What was once an indulgence becomes a routine, but then again, that isn’t necessarily always the case. Sweet treats can be just sweet treats to brighten a gloomy day or to bond with friends.
As with anything, balance is crucial, especially considering budget. College is expensive, and sweet treats can add up. Thus, it is important to consider alternatives, whether that is a cheaper item on the menu or a sale promotion, or skipping the café altogether in favor of another activity, like a walk, enjoying the sun, or making the sweet treat at home. Again, this is not to say that sweet treats are wrong. There can be a value in rituals: a boba run with friends after a harsh midterm, or something warm on a cold day. Yet, most importantly, there are so many great cafés and boba shops, on the Ave—Ugly Mug Cafe and Don’t Yell at Me to name two, that it would be a shame not to try them. Sweet treats offer memories, markers in UW’s galloping quarter system. So, sweet treats may be capitalism’s love letters, but we get to choose how to read them, whether as indulgence, inspiration, or small joys.