Morning ritual: coffee + headphones + existential dread.
MORNING RITUAL: COFFEE + HEADPHONES + EXISTENTIAL DREAD.
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Remember those mornings? The campus just beginning to stir, a quiet hum before the rush. You'd slip out, coffee in hand – that familiar warmth, often too hot to hold properly at first. The deliberate act of placing headphones over your ears, a signal to the world and yourself: "I am in my zone." Maybe it was lo-fi beats, classical, or a thought-provoking podcast that offered a brief, stolen moment of intellectual escape before diving into the day's demands.
But alongside the caffeine kick and the carefully curated soundtrack, there it was: the gnawing, ever-present hum of existential dread. Not just about the looming deadlines or that upcoming presentation, but the bigger picture. The weight of ambition, the future stretching out, the immense expectations – both external and internal – pressing down. It was a shared, unspoken burden, felt in the hushed libraries and the early morning walks across quadrangles.
That ritual, a peculiar blend of comfort and quiet anxiety, anchored so many of our days. Now, far removed from those hallowed halls, those moments feel incredibly poignant. They were more than just routines; they were the crucible where our focus, our resilience, and yes, our anxieties, were forged. We might not miss the dread, but we certainly miss the raw, unfiltered intensity of those formative mornings.