Coffee Casual

What is Coffee? It’s a stimulant, a drug, a topping, a flavor, a Mason jar filler, and most of all it’s my teddy bear for when the world seems too big. I am a coffee fiend— or, as many others at Queen’s discover, an average student with 8:30am classes. However, as innocuous as it is, I have begun to notice the power the coffee cup has— or, at the very least, the role it has assumed in my life.

What makes a coffee cup? Ten cents of recycled cardboard, a bit of ink for an interesting design, and a two-cent plastic lid (this is likely inaccurate, but based on the single finance class I’ve taken).

In all seriousness, for something so small and insignificant in the scale of our lives, coffee cups have had a lasting impact on our identities. I’m sure many people notice the Starbucks, CoGro, and Tim Hortons cups that litter the desks in every auditorium. Yes, this says that everyone likes a pick-me-up every once in a while and, yes, we are all perpetually tired from our naps, but it can also tell a story, or at least a feeling. The presence of the cup signifies more than just a container for your coffee. Simply holding a cup alters your image, making you feel sophisticated, thereby infusing you with confidence. This confidence has the power to combat feelings with which we are all familiar: anonymity, awkwardness, and anxiety, the feeling of being out of place.

If you look around, these little disposable cups have had the unique power of settling these feelings, a small consolation prize to the emotional story we so often find ourselves in. There is power in a twenty-cent manufactured biodegradable cup. To make us, or maybe just me, feel important, relaxed, and adult. It is the finishing touch to those “I need to take a break” moments, or a way to remind an interviewer of your name (small tip for coffee chats: turn your cup so it faces them).

Inexplicably, this hobbled piece of cardboard printed with logos and overbearing designs of holiday cheer has become its own centerpiece. It feels right in our ever-anxious hands, which sometimes are in need of these adult sippy cups. Anxiety, fear, a need to belong: these are feelings that will never go away. Hopefully, something as small as a cup of coffee will continue to bring us all a little comfort, confidence, and much needed caffeine to our dayto-day lives.

Final coffee pro tip: make sure said coffee cup doesn’t have a smiley face, heart, or (if your friend works there) your embarrassing nickname.

By Andrew Hum | Photography by Zoe Zimmerman