I think everyone who lives in the Warsaw, Indiana area flipped out when they heard that a Starbucks was going to be built in the town. I love any coffee house, don't get me wrong, but my wonderful mother got me a Starbucks gift card because, well, she knows I love coffee and Starbucks is amazing. So today I decided to actually use the gift card.
This semester I have Tuesday nights completely to myself. I took advantage of that today and went off campus. I had never been to this Starbucks before. I timidly walked in, turned towards the counter and... saw that the barista was really, really cute. Hehehe. I ordered my Grande Caffe Americano with some pseudo-confidence I found inside me (I'm not the best with ordering things. Especially in a new location and there's a really cute guy taking my order) and waited patiently as he made it for me. He filled it to the brim (almost spilling it as he tried to put the lid on) and cautiously handed it to me. I smiled politely and said thank you, and walked happily away to find a couch where I could sit and study.
Kudos to Cute Barista, he made an extremely good Americano and it stayed scalding hot for over a half an hour. After burning my tongue, I sat down to study for two quizzes I have tomorrow. I got a lot of studying done and I'm confident on how well I'll do on those quizzes, but that's not really the point of what I want to talk about.
The atmosphere in a coffee house is very unique. It's one thing to just order the coffee from their and leave. It's another to actually stay and experience what it's like. I sat and experienced it for two and a half hours.
Today I had many of the classic characters one will find in a coffee house at some point in their lives pop in and out of the place. There was a family with very loud children who were excited about going up to the second floor (which confirmed that the choice I made of staying on the bottom level was the correct one). The group of older ladies who looked like they were somewhat stuck in the 80s were having a blast catching up with one another at the table closest to the doors. The couple meeting an old friend for coffee sat in the corner in the comfy chairs. The frazzled looking college student came in and set up a homework station for herself in a booth. The classic "same side sitter" couple came in and giggled more than studied their homework. The loud friendly middle aged couple came in and talked to anyone around them while ordering their coffee. An older man sat by himself enjoying his cup of coffee. More people walked up and down the steps from the top than I can remember. And then there was me, sitting at the couch close to the wall where I could get comfortable to study and could see everything.
No matter how many people were in the place at any given moment, though, the atmosphere was so relaxed. Many of the people who ordered coffee there today waited impatiently for it and then left in a whirlwind. However, the people who stayed gradually released the tension they had while walking in and became much more relaxed. Whatever the story was behind their day didn't really seem to matter at that point. They were taking a break from whatever had happened that day. I needed that for myself, too. I'm not a person who always needs to be doing something (and many times should be doing something when I'm not), but sometimes I still get wrapped up in that mindset that if I'm not bouncing from one thing to the next like rapid fire, doing a thousand things at once, or talking to people constantly, I'm not doing something right.
Americans are used to a hectic lifestyle, and sometimes I think they get so wrapped up in their business that the thought of taking a time out to enjoy a cup of coffee either bores them or scares them. Even if they're doing something productive while enjoying a cup of coffee, like homework, it's still not enough. We're used to doing several different things at once, and if we don't do it like that we're not getting enough done in a day. Even if we're draining ourselves to the point where we feel like crap, we still keep trudging through until burn out comes.
I understand things need to get done. I understand that we can't all just sit around on our butts and expect everything to just happen for us (even though I may act like that sometimes haha). But why must we work ourselves to death? Why must we always be in "rapid fire go" mode? Why can't more people just take a breather and relax at least once a day? Why can't we just focus on one thing at a time sometimes? Just think of that whenever you start feeling overloaded.
Today I learned to go to a relaxing environment if I need it. The time I had there was so refreshing and a reminder that I don't need to handle everything all at once. I can prioritize. And, *gasp* take time to take care of MYSELF before diving in to something again.
I had quite an amazing time today. It was a nice reminder that slowing down does not mean you are weak.
Well, and Cute Barista who makes amazing coffee had a little something to do with it, too. Hehe :)
Take a break, people.
If you've learned to take time for yourself and relax, you've learned the secret to college survival. :-)
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