I'm sitting in my old store writing this article and I've already run into three of my old regulars that still remember my name, where I go to school, and what I was studying, which I then had to explain that I changed because, you know, college. If that doesn't explain how connected I was to my store I don't what will.

There are so many amazing perks to being a Starbucks barista, I don't know where to begin.

Okay, the first perk that comes to mind is free coffee and Spotify but that definitely isn't the best one.

This job also taught me a lot about hard work, there would be some days where the store would be crazy slammed and it wouldn't stop the entire time I was there. I would work fifteen-hour days because someone would call out or not show up.

It made me really enjoy getting those paychecks because I knew I had worked my butt off for them and wasn't just waiting out the clock for my shift to be over.

This job gave me a second family that I couldn't be more thankful for. My coworkers became my best friends and some of them even like my sisters that I never had. We had the store moms and the crazy uncles that we would get frustrated with but couldn't live without.

I also gained a much stronger connection to my town and community. I got to learn about businesses I didn't know were in the shops I would pass downtown, and hear stories about the amazing people living around me. I also got to know my town cops really well because they would all come in at night before the night shift and tell great stories and just chat and laugh with us the whole time.

The most amazing perk for me was the fact that I got to make people happy.

Sometimes I was the first person they talked to in the morning and the first smile they saw. Sometimes I gave them a little afternoon pick me up so they could continue on with the rest of their day. Sometimes, if they came in close to closing, they could vent to me about their stressful day and I could listen and maybe even give them their drink for free to make their day a little better.

I just enjoyed seeing people light up after grabbing some Starbucks, and that's what made everything worth it.