Morning ritual: coffee + headphones + existential dread.
MORNING RITUAL: COFFEE + HEADPHONES + EXISTENTIAL DREAD. Follow for more reflections on the small things that stay with us.
Remember the dawn breaking through a narrow window, a pre-class quiet that felt sacred? The first, almost ritualistic, clink of a cheap mug on a worn desk. That bitter, life-giving first sip of coffee, a promise of wakefulness, a shield against the lingering chill of the dorm room. Then, the headphones. A carefully chosen playlist, a fortress of sound against the world, a mental prep talk for the intellectual battles ahead.
And the dread. Not always negative, but that profound sense of anticipation, the weight of expectations, the exhilarating pressure of belonging to a place where brilliance was the currency. It was the papers due, the complex theories to unpack, the future to contend with, all before 9 AM. This wasn't just a morning; it was the morning. It was our daily re-entry into a demanding, transformative world.
Now, whether you're still navigating those hallowed halls or years removed, chasing that specific blend of challenge and caffeine, that unique cocktail of aspiration and anxiety, feels like a phantom limb. We miss the specific hum of the fluorescent lights, the scent of old books, the shared, unspoken understanding among peers. These tiny, once-mundane details, they aren't just memories; they're the bedrock of a unique shared experience. They are the things we carry.
View More