Thank you, Starbucks.
School is hard, and at times studying seems to be impossible, but thanks to you, it's a little bit easier.
Although roaming for a table is always awkward, you have helped teach me how to hover like a pro. No matter how small the tables are, what you lack in size, you make up for in support.
There will always be those people who take up a whole table for one drink, while I stand there with my books pouring out of my hands, wondering why they didn’t sit at the bar? But hey, I guess you are teaching me to have patience.
And you have introduced me to some interesting people, I don’t know any of their names, but I like to believe I know their stories.
'Starbun' is a struggling medical student that spends just as much time at your establishment as I do. His books weigh more than he does, and his hair is probably better than his grades.
Then there's 'the guy who knows all the baristas'. He's someone that obviously comes often, because his order is memorized. He is the one all the baristas bring out the messed up drinks to for free.
'Barista #1', a hardworking woman for sure, thank you for constantly trying to memorize my order and yet still never managing to memorize my name.
'Republican computer', although new to our strange gang, has started coming around more and more. And if his grades match the death stare he gives his laptop, he probably has a 4.0 GPA.
The point is, we are all in different parts of our lives, and yet our one common factor is where we choose to spend our free time. I am constantly asked why I take the long trip out to Starbucks when I have a perfectly good kitchen table to study with at home? At home, I have drinks that don’t cost me an arm and a leg, dogs that tend to distract me in the most beautiful way, and a table that I do not have to hover to claim, and yet I still would pick Starbucks. Starbucks is a place of unity. A place where people can come to laugh over that stupid test grade, and then start crying over it ten minutes into studying. It is a place of people trying to pursue their future, whether it is by studying from open to close (which is a huge accomplishment), or experiencing a job interview, we are all just trying to move forward. The environment is so peaceful, and yet you never feel quite alone. You are constantly surrounded by people that you may think are your friends when you only know them by their alias...that’s because familiarity leads to liking more often than contempt (I only know this because I studied at Starbucks).
So thank you, Starbucks, for always being by my side, through the tears and the happiness. From the failed test to the small glimpse of hope when I get a totally undeserved “A”. Thank you for having free ice water because I am too poor for your delicious drinks.
But most of all, thank you for my future 4.0 GPA. No, it hasn’t happened yet, but it will. Not just for me, but for “starbun”, “republican computer”, and “the guy that knows all the bartistas”, we all thank you because with out you, who knows where we would end up?
Sincerely,
A tired, poor, struggling, yet somehow hopeful college student
