As a college student, it’s safe to say that there is almost no feeling better than going to your favorite coffee spot and getting that sweet caffeine fix. There’s just a certain excitement that comes with taking a walk or drive to yourself, to take somewhat of a “self-care” break to get your gears going in the right direction. When I first ventured into coffee, I was honestly skeptical at the benefits. But now that I am the epitome of every iced coffee meme, I realized now more than ever that I love coffee for reasons bigger than the boost of energy it gives me.
I’m a so to speak/self-proclaimed coffee addict. This strong, strong, strong love grew in high-school when I started taking Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes. It was my Junior year, and I was “stressed” beyond belief. The one thing that really picked me up everyday was an iced-coffee from Starbucks.
My Starbucks dependency and loyalty is beyond real because that was really the first coffee spot I ever invested time/money in to. This is due very much so due to the fact that I went to high-school in a predominantly white neighborhood. There was a Starbucks on nearly every other corner and about three just walking distance from my school. Because of the close proximity there was just no other choice or no better choice to wonder into the world of coffee.
While at first getting coffee was definitely apart of my morning ritual, it grew into an act that I enjoy to do at any part of the day. It was a time for me to “treat myself” and take thirty minutes or so to self indulge and reflect on whatever I needed to. There was something about going to Starbucks that felt/feels like an escape and a safe space.
As I matriculated in high-school, I began to resort to coffee for any type of emotion I felt. Sad? Get an iced coffee pick me up. Happy? Celebrate with and iced coffee. Upset? Go grab some coffee and get over it. To me getting coffee was/is way more than getting some energy to get my day going. It’s an act of love to myself, as it really helps me get myself together no matter what state I’m in.
Now that I’m in college, caffeine is almost more critical to my busy lifestyle than it ever has been. But now that I appreciate coffee so much, it’s easy for me to use getting an iced-coffee as an excuse to focus on me, power myself up, congratulate myself, etc. Everybody has their thing, right? Coffee just so happens to be mine.
The fact that coffee is just a “me thing”, is essential to my development and work ethic as its something I can always turn to when I need it. I know it makes me feel good, it motivates me, and it gets me going when I really need it to. Everyone needs that in life. Maybe it’s your favorite snack, watching your favorite TV show, taking a walk, etc. But, whatever it is, I think it’s essential to have that moment or moments of time to yourself in which you know whatever you’re doing will help you get your life together.
College is rough, #adulting is hard, as collegiate level folks we all deserve that time to take to ourselves to better what we have going on. So shoutout to all my iced-coffee gals, binge snackers, etc. Do whatever you have to do to be better every day, even if that’s being sure to get that $5 dollar caffeine fix, like myself.