Starbucks: More than Just Coffee

Original photo by D Sharon Pruitt

Nobody can deny that Starbucks is the leading coffee company in our country. But what’s the deal with teenage girls and Starbucks? Starbucks has become more than just a coffee shop for teenage girls; rather, it’s another aspect of personal style. Walk into school with your North Face backpack, out-of-bed messy ponytail that you secretly spent 20 minutes trying to make look perfect, with the Nars bronzer not overdone and a Venti skinny vanilla latte from Starbucks, and you’ve suddenly become the coolest girl in the school.

Little does anybody know that you secretly hate the taste of coffee. But for some people, that doesn’t stop them. You want everybody to think that you’re drinking the coffee to wake you up from your endless night of studying, when secretly you recorded “Gossip Girl” on your DVR because you were in bed by 9 o’clock. Somehow, the Starbucks cup in your hand has become your ticket to one of the top Ivys in the country.

In the past couple of years, the good grades stereotypically go to the girl who stayed up the latest studying. You automatically feel threatened by the girl who studied for two hours more than you when—before talking to her—you felt prepared for the test.

Don’t let the unhealthy habits of other girls influence the way you make your decisions. Not only is sleep one of the most important elements in succeeding on tests or getting through the school day aware, but also caffeine stunts growth and becomes a habit rather than a fashion statement.

The next time you see the girl holding the Venti Starbucks and claiming that she stayed up until 4 a.m. studying, remember to stay true to yourself and the way that you have been succeeding thus far. Ask yourself this question: Has it ever let me down? And if the answer is no, Starbucks or no Starbucks, you are going places.