As an underclassman, Commencement is a great excuse to stay on campus for an extra week.  The last two years, I would pick up extra hours at work, then pull myself out of bed at 4 am Sunday morning to traipse down to the National Mall in my GW polo shirt, spending the afternoon escorting families to their metal chairs in the rain.  This year, I’ll be arriving a bit later in the morning - as a graduate.

With all of these big life changes come the little changes as well.  For those who have lived on-campus and needed their coffee fix often, you might notice similar changes:  no more late-night study breaks to run to Starbucks, no more waiting in line at the Starbucks for thirty minutes before your 2:20 lecture, and no more fueling up at 1am as you feverishly run back into the computer lab to finish your research paper.  And no more procrastinating after getting that cup of coffee by sitting in the shop and telling everyone how much work you have to do without ever actually sitting down to do it.  For these reasons, I am endlessly thankful to everyone who makes the Gelman Starbucks function properly, and for putting up with us as we make it into our own study hall and living room.  As much as I’ve complained about the taste of the coffee at Starbucks franchises, I am grateful they have been open for us.

My experience at GW, I am proud to say, has been strongly defined by my pursuit of coffee.  From late-night refills at Gelman, to my mid-afternoon pick-me-up,, to biking across town to taste an espresso somewhere new, I have been an honest devotee to the District coffee scene.  As Rasheed Jabr of Filter Coffeehouse commented recently, the scene is up and coming, and I encourage everyone to use it as an excuse to get out into the city.

As I receive my degree and potentially pursue more professional endeavors, I welcome and fear the end of the coffee-shop era of my young life.  From North Carolina to Boston to Foggy Bottom, I have always been able to rely on a cup to help propel me through whatever life has thrown me.  These shops have been second homes, as places of employment and places to meet friends, spend time, relax and to always have a friend on hand (or an extra shot of espresso for those particularly tough afternoons).  Since I was sixteen, I have enjoyed getting to know customers who return time and time again, spending a little extra effort to make their order perfect.  In turn, I have a new friend, and usually a new smile; one more reason to roll out of bed the next morning when everything else in the world feels difficult.

I remember throwing my Biological Anthropology flashcards into my apron pockets at work two years ago before finals, whipping them out every time we had a lull in business throughout the week.  I remember taking home a new roast of coffee (flavored - chocolate raspberry, why did I think that was a good idea?!) so I would drink it and be able to stay awake for the whole night working.  I remember all of those shifts that, I thought at the time, would be my last day at work - just to be called in a few weeks later, happily steaming away cappuccinos behind the espresso bar.

As for now, this is the end of coffee fueling my academic endeavors.  For the first time since I was four years old, I will be out of school.  I like to think this means that I will spend my morning coffee time reading the paper, or enjoying a book for pleasure instead of for preparing for class discussion or writing a paper.

Who knows what life holds in store for the rest of us?  I have no idea where I see myself in the future - except I hope that I’ll be happy, and I’ll be properly caffeinated.  What a lifelong love affair!

• Tweet This
• Digg This
• Save to delicious
• Stumble it
• RSS Feed