Dear Local Coffee Shop,

I didn't realize that I needed a place like you in my life. I thought that a Keurig and a nearby Starbucks is all I needed in my not-yet-coffee-addicted lifestyle, but I was oh so wrong. There's something so glorious about the slight bustle of a coffee shop: the clink of mugs and plates, the idle chatter you only catch pieces of, the turning pages as the old man across the room reads over his morning paper, it's a symphony. I might not come here as often as I'd like to, but every time I do I find myself right at home. I really enjoy the people watching, there's a type of camaraderie to be found in the act of sitting in a coffee shop. Obviously, we all have great taste in coffee if we've all chosen this place, but it's more than that. Even though they might not realize it, the couple sitting nearest to me is now forever preserved in this moment. I will only know them from this brief encounter, and they will always in my mind be the boy teaching the girl how to play chess as they sip their coffee. The man across the table will always be reading his paper, this acoustic version of "Stand By Me" will always be playing. I love that, the tiny moments that I get to be a part of in this coffee shop. Every time I come there's something different, maybe it's a song that plays or a conversation heard, but I will always have something to think about. So thank you, coffee shop, for always keeping me awake, for keeping me interested in the world around me, and for providing the most perfect chai latte in existence.

Love,

Me