Coffee
I never use to drink it. I was against it some time ago. Then the regents exam came up while I was in high school. I was trying to study for long hours as it seemed like it was the right thing to do and others were talking about how long they studied for.
I walked towards the back of the building and then across the parking lot. There was a fence there to walk to Dunkin' Donuts.
I had no idea what I was ordering but I did what I heard others did to see if it would help me the way it helped them.
My first cup. A small coffee, black... I added sugar packets to it.
Whoa!
Sweet, and it made me feel like there was a barrier between myself and reality. I knew everything that was happening was real but it felt like I was hyper aware or so.
I thought, this must be what the other students spoke about.
I can do this!
The regents exam? Let's just say for Chemistry and Math, I think I failed both or maybe just passed the Chemistry one.
The coffee didn't affect me as it did for the others.
However, my feeling for coffee continued.
I went somewhere with a friend called Babylon Bean. We'd meet up and work on our laptops and talk. It was refreshing to have someone to co-work with as I found the coffee shop ambiance...productive.
Then, Starbucks came into focus. I used to treat myself to the one near my job as a way for me to get out of bed on time as I knew if I wasn't on time, I wouldn't be able to get my green tea latte made with coconut milk and a double shot of espresso.
There it was, that feeling again of being hyper aware and the distance between myself and reality.
I was chronically late to work at the time... 1-4 min late.
A manager at the time told me... people look up to you, don't be late.
I was shocked by this..why look up to me?
Apparently folks saw me as a high performer. I had no idea what this meant at the time. I was elected into Quality Assurance. I listened to calls and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Not that the reps couldn't handle the calls, but no one taught them what it was to be great, for them.
Everyone is different, used different words, comfortable or uncomfortable saying things a certain way... why were they taught to sound the same? This is how an identity is eliminated. I spent time creating verbiage and the essence of the call for over 200 representatives.... each one personalized.
Some people would say, how does one do this? It's impossible.... no such thing exists...
Was it the coffee, or was it me?





