In college, it’s tricky to find a place that you can claim as your own. Each year, you are placed into a different living situation with different roommates, where you have to have the discussion about dirty dishes yet again. Twice a year, your classes and schedule change, so just when you get used to a routine, it changes.
This is vastly different than what happened before college (at least for me). I grew up in the same little town of Lowell, Indiana until I was 18 years old. I went to relatively the same school, and lived in the same home. Nothing ever changed, but now things change all the time.
There are many positives from being in a busy place. You get to meet new people and experience new things. That being said, there is a great challenge in trying to identify with the familiar again. However, there is one thing that I’ve found is constant: coffee shops.
It’s a worn-out cliché to say that college students depend on coffee, and in many ways, they are all true. Having meetings at 9 p.m., then homework after can create a need for caffeine, but I don’t go to coffee shops because they sell coffee. I go because it’s a second home. A coffee shop is a place that is constant in an ever-changing academic lifestyle. It’s there for a pick-me-up, it’s there to meet friends, and despite even a busy coffee shop, you always feel like you’re alone. The stress of a seven-page essay instantly melts away when you smell the fresh aroma of espresso, mixed with the nuttiness of the chestnut latte.
In a period of tireless change, it’s important to stop time in the hustle and bustle of a coffee shop. Whether the coffee shop is at Marian University, or some of Indianapolis independent coffee shops (like Kaffeine, where I am at with my computer in the picture), it’s nice to take a quiet afternoon, buy a large ice coffee with a pumpkin cream cheese muffin, and enjoy life in the comfort of a second home.
KJ Fallon is a senior at Marian University majoring in Communication Studies. Originally from Lowell, Indiana, KJ enjoys stand up comedy, Spider-Man, and participating in the philanthropic community here in Indy.
