Clad in all black, she sat upright by the counter, sipping freshly served coffee.
The world around her roared with life. A group of college boys jeered each other over their crushes, and another group of friends clapped at the prospect of a friend’s future.
Either way, she sat oblivious to the joy and chatter around her. Or she was aware and enjoyed the chaos as she concentrated on the little things before her: two Starbucks reserved signature items and a cell phone propped up for landscape viewing.
After receiving her croissant and Affogato, she lifted her phone, snapped a picture, and watched away. Her Apple AirPods drowned the chaotic world away, and her eyes absorbed whatever was playing on the screen.
As someone who would rather stay home and watch a film alone after school or work on a Friday night, her confident de-stressor left me in awe.
The rain was pouring cats and dogs outside, the coffee here was pretty pricey, and the seat by the counter was uncomfortable for hour-long films, unlike the couches by walls.
The whole scene looked uncomfortable and inconvenient, but it worked for her. Even with a perceived discomfort, she seemed to be in a state of Zen. She was winding down for the week.
There was an air of home and routine in her movement. A sense of belonging—something I may never have in the same setting.
Here are four reminders from this scene to break away and wind down after a long week:
1. The Call of the Coffee
As a tea drinker, I will never understand the addiction and dependence on this drink. It smells great, a comforting fragrance of warmth that wraps around a house or a coffee shop like a fluffy blanket.
The sound of coffee brewing and the aroma are cozy in itself. She would not have that cozy warmth from making instant coffee at home, or if she did have a coffee maker, she definitely could not have Starbucks’ custom-made famous drinks.
The place was not just for overrated coffee but one where she could enjoy a cup without the hassle or worry of making one herself and cleaning all the mess. Along with all its supposed benefits of coffee, this could be why she would risk going out for a drink in the middle of all that rain. If it is what she needed after a long week, then you go, girl.
2. Peace in a Crowd
Some people thrive sitting alone amidst a crowd.
I tried looking into why this is the case but can’t find anything. I guess I somehow enjoy people-watching and observing. The everything and the nothingness all together.
It is like sitting in a classroom when the teacher stepped out. Silence erupts into chaos that grows as the minutes go by.
Everyone is doing their own thing as you sit and take in the scenery. In a classroom setting, there is no sense of someone outside looking in but of someone inside—part of the chaos—without necessarily participating.
Unlike a classroom, a cafe is filled with strangers, a crowd with whom you have no sense of rapport and belongingness. It is a different scenario but one that, if you visit often enough, could be a setting as familiar as your homeroom class when the teacher is away.
There is a peace in being somewhat involved in the madness around you, yet distinct from it. Something she may have been looking for. Collective isolation. Not alone confined in the walls of her apartment but amid a crowd or some kind of community where her lonesome belonged.
3. Change of Pace
Everyone gets bored of their routine and needs a change of pace, setting, and environment.
Mixing things up a little is a good way to trick your tired mind from running straight into burnout. Pushing aside the demands of the working world with fun trips or little rendezvous can recalibrate your stress levels. And remind you why you’re working so hard in the first place.
Going out and enjoying a cup of coffee and a movie or whatever could have been a small way she awarded herself for a week of staring at screens and serving an employer. Or it could have been a celebration of the milestones for personal goals.
Either way, choosing to go out to watch something on your phone was a change from watching at home, on the couch, or in bed. Mixing up the routine is a breath of fresh air for all stressed-out human beings out there.
4. A Sense of Security
John Green said he wrote most of the Fault in Our Stars in a Starbucks. He did so confidently and comfortably, even crying in that cafe.
Something about being in a familiar cafe could be this woman’s sense of security, a place to unwind and let her hair down. Why, John Green seemed to consider it a place to lay down his walls and grieve.
She may not need to be there. Nonetheless, if this was a part of her routine, it was a cornerstone in her sense of identity, a source of security.
Visiting a familiar cafe, addressing and being addressed by the baristas on a first-name basis, and the shared knowledge behind the bar of her favorite drink, one could say it was home.
The baristas were her family, knowing what time she usually came in and how she dressed when needing a pick-me-up drink or needing to get down to business. Everyone in that coffee shop played their part smoothly.
There was a whole ecosystem here that I was not a part of, just an outsider looking in.
This familiarity, rapport, and routine were worth going out on a Friday night for. It was why one would dress up just to watch a movie on their phone on a stormy Friday night.
And that is beautiful.
So whatever you need to do to unwind at the end of a long week, go! She sat in confidence, so can you even if that means sitting in your pajamas as early as 7 p.m.
Busyzi 