Tea Time & Coffee Thoughts
I own a very nice pair of earbuds; I bought them with my paycheck from a law office I interned at two years ago. If I cannot leave my dorm without, it’s my earbuds and my phone. Music plays such an influential role in everyone’s lives. While I sit here by the campus Starbucks, the playlist is shuffling through an eclectic grouping of songs I put together. One moment, I’m listening to “Queencard” by (G)I-DLE, next on shuffle is “Cat People” by David Bowie. However, through the K-Pop anthems and the ballads of David Bowie, I can still hear the hustle and bustle of the student center where the Starbucks is nestled on the 2nd floor.
Since it is the Student Center, it is the heart of campus. This late morning, people are flooding in and out of the doors constantly to the point they probably can just be left open. Students are grabbing Starbucks before their classes; other students are getting packages from the mail center down the hall. As the clock approaches 11:00, more and more students are crowding the lower levels of the student center to get ready to order their lunch.
While looking around, I spot a robot carrying two awkwardly shaped packages, too long to walk through the automatic doors of the student center normally. He has to sidestep through them in order to clear the height of the door. Both packages were labeled “Oreo”, I guess he must have an Oreo cookie addiction, but they do say it is America’s favorite cookie, what’s to limit it to only humans?
On the other side of the student center, by the door closest to me, I see several people dressed in full suits congregating by a row of chairs. My university is obsessed with professionalism, no doubt these students are getting ready for some presentation. During my sophomore year, I had one class that required a suit and tie every day to maintain a high degree of professionalism. It never particularly bothered me, the part that bothered me, or more so stressed me out, was the amount of public speaking we did in that class.
Obviously, a high degree of professionalism comes with a high capacity to perform well in public speaking situations. If it were up to me, I would not do any public speaking, at least on topics I am not invested in. The sad part of university or any part of schooling is presenting on topics you don’t care about, it is something any student can agree with and at my school, you can usually tell who is giving a presentation that day if they're wearing a suit or a nice dress.
For most people, I think the topics we are most interested in come from moments like these, sitting in a coffee shop, relaxing, listening to music, and watching time go by as we contemplate our favorite hobbies. For me, I’ve been thinking about what I am going to eat for lunch.
About them beans
Who: A hungry student.
Where: Starbucks High Point, North Carolina
When: Late Wednesday morning in the Last Days of August.
What I’m drinking: Caramel Apple Spice Tea.
