A Latte to Remember: Tales of Coffee and Chaos in NYC

Let me paint a picture for you. I’m at a coffee shop on my way to campus, on a Sunday afternoon, sipping on my medium Mocha because apparently, they were out of the large cups *eye-roll* (but they’re playing Taylor Swift so it makes up for it I guess 👾), with just two thoughts in my mind: “I wanted a large coffee 😭” and “this blog is going to be just about coffee, isn’t it? 👀” I mean, the working title itself is set to “Coffee” so know what you’re getting into if you decide to read any further :)))

Two years back, in the middle of the pandemic, when I had all the time in the world to basically just sit in my room and dream about going places, I was conflicted about which one out of London (or the England/Europe region) and New York will I find more to my liking. Like any normal person, I made a table comparing the two places. 

The London side of the table had the following:

• At a later stage in my life
• potentially WITH someone
• sipping tea in a cute cafe on a rainy day.

The New York side had: 

• in my early 20s (because come on! FRIENDS influence)
• can ✨thrive✨ alone
• coffee on the go! 

Well, I AM in New York in my early 20’s, and I am NOT thriving, but the "coffee on the go" part could not be more true!!!

I used to wonder what all the hype around coffee was. Any picture or video of NYC I saw used to have people walking around with a coffee cup. The books I used to read, that were set in NYC, used to have the "let's grab some coffee", "wanna go out for coffee", or "craving a cold brew" lines every other chapter. Even the movies or shows set in NYC portray the coffee addiction New Yorkers seem to have. Before I flew here, I went around saying proudly that "I will NEVER start drinking coffee" and "I can never turn my back on tea (Chai and not Chai tea latte 🙂)." But here we are! My day begins by planning what time am I gonna grab a "large hot mocha with whole milk and an extra shot" and IF I'm gonna spend money on more cups of coffee or just gonna make some using K-cups and save money (which, VERY essential in NYC 😭)  You’ll either find me talking about grabbing a coffee, actually grabbing a coffee, writing about coffee, walking around WITH a coffee, walking into coffee sometimes (clumsy much.) (I’m making it sound more dramatic than it actually is because ✨content needs to be engaging✨)

What I'm trying to say is that I get it now. The pace at which life moves in New York City DEMANDS caffeine! I mean, since I began classes a month ago, it feels like I haven’t stopped and taken a break just to breathe even once! I wake up, get to classes, work on assignments, and projects, and on gathering my will to live, get back to my apartment, cook, clean, and if I can, then get some sleep. And it's the same routine ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY. And even when I do something fun sometimes, I have ZERO memories of it the next day. Been on a boat cruise. No memory. Had a day of exploring FiDi. No memory. Visited the MET. No memory. I mean, while writing this, when I’m actively trying to remember those particular days, I do recollect the things I saw and felt. But if you ask me randomly where I’ve been and what I’ve seen, I’ll have no answer. Because I haven’t, after visiting these places, paused to actually let the experiences sink in. 

And so, two days ago, I decided to take a pause. On my way to the library, which has become my new home nowadays, I just forced myself to stop. I stopped, sat on the steps outside the library, and just tried to process everything. Tried being the keyword. I just sat there, looking at THE Butler Library, and trying to remind myself that THIS is what I had been dreaming of for the last two years. And even though it took me a while to get here, it'll be over before I know it. As important as it is to "keep hustling," I would definitely not want to regret forgetting to absorb the experiences. And so every time I get a coffee from now, I am gonna try to not have it "on the go" but "sit and sip it at the coffee shop." I'm gonna laugh about my habit of saying "DUDEEEE!!" every time I see something marvelous in New York City. I'll spend some time people-watching while listening to "People Watching." I'll smile to myself every time a Taylor Swift song plays at the shop. I will maybe read a book again someday (because the delusional world of books is way better than the real world 😭) I'll give New York the credit for reminding me to be a part of the chaos, but also for making me realize that sometimes, I can "stand still" and still be a part of it, by being surrounded by chaos, and that is completely fine! And though I won't be questioning the obsession of New York with coffee, I definitely will question the coffee orders of New Yorkers because WHO DRINKS AN ICED LATTE WHEN IT'S BASICALLY FREEZING OUTSIDE!?!!?  

~ vee 🗽