This past year has been a lesson in starting over. With college graduation behind me, I wondered how I was going to spend the next year or two of my life. No amount of internship experience, study abroad or student teaching can effectively prepare you for the dreaded 'real world' that so many college and graduate students evade for much of their young-adult lives. Whether it's new people, new surroundings or new schedules, it seems that a new beginning has touched every facet of my life in the past year.
One of those new surroundings has been the wide array of unique cafes and coffee shops that seem to be speckled throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul. These venues offer a new perspective on your average cuppa joe offering meals, baked goods, specialty drinks and oftentimes unique settings, neighborhood pride and quirky rituals. An idea struck me one Saturday morning as I nursed a cafe au lait and an orange chocolate chip scone, nestled in the corner of a booth (my favorite place in any cafe). I produced a brown leather-bound journal from my backpack and furiously began writing down my idea.
An idea to allow myself to engage in my new surroundings. An idea of a place to go every now and again in order to revel in the quiet bustle of a Saturday morning. And good food, of course. An idea to allow myself to slow down from the intense rush of life that blinds me to the rest of the world. An idea to better appreciate the simple things life, like coffee, a good book and a comfy chair.
And so it began. As I discovered my new neighborhood, my post-college playground, that dreaded 'real world,' I would seek out these places of social solitude (quite the oxymoron, I am well aware) and journal about my experiences there. Of friendly neighbors, of quirky employees, of those I saw who came and went and ultimately, of the intentionally casual atmosphere that consumes most coffee shops.
As I set out on my journey for new and enlightening experiences, I hope to learn more about life, myself and ultimately, more about my post-college playground. My new beginning.
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