Alyssa Keane
Call me crazy, but for a good portion of my life my daily routine went something like this…
Wake up, place a mobile order, go to Dunkin’, get a “sweet treat”, Repeat.
Some may even call me insane — and they’d be right. Insanity, by definition, is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. I unfortunately can’t help myself.
Dunkin’ holds a special place in my heart. This place is sacred to me and my mom… even if she doesn’t know it.
I was introduced to the joys of a tasty iced coffee at the ripe age of I don’t even know when! However, if we look back, my addiction to my local Dunkin’ drive through isn’t new to my coffee era.
Hitting the Dunkin’ drive throughs on hot summer afternoons with my mother seems to be where this ritual formed in my brain as a necessary daily activity. To me, it was more than a pitstop on our route home.
Sitting in the Dunkin’ drive through was a bonding experience. Something that tied me and her together. Something so small and so miniscule most would fail to notice. It was our time away from the rest of the world to catch up on the latest drama.
I didn’t always order an over-caffeinated beverage. My favorite drink as a kid was the infamous coolatta. Now I know what you’re probably thinking; I can still have a coolatta! Kept my loyalties to a beverage where the caffeine didn’t feed my jitterbugs. No one was forcing me to drink an iced coffee, but let’s be realistic. There may be no age limit on the Dunkin’ Coolatta, but if I were to guess the fine print probably reads “for kids ages 5 through 12.”
Dunkin’ watched me evolve as I ditched the coolatas and moved on to bigger and better things… like a small iced coffee loaded with creamer, sugar, and flavored syrup.
As I got older I frequented the same drive through every day. It was different though. I now had my license and my mom was speaking from the inside of my sound system. I spent more time with my friends before school, leaving my mom and I’s special drive through time in the past.
Come senior year, my friends and I practically clinked our medium iced coffees together on our last day. One last treat before we went our separate ways.
When it was time for my next chapter I made the decision to head to Bridgewater State University. Moving away from home was intimidating and scary. I was miles away from my home, my friends, and my comfort drive through. Would it even remember me when I returned for fall break???
Scared half to death, my roommate and I timidly wandered around new and uncharted territories.
In our search for the book store we came across a Dunkin’ right on campus. Although I may have been far from home, the smell of coffee grounds, the sounds of the never ending receipts printing, and the blinding orange and pink decor made me feel right at home.
So when people ask me “what was the catalyst for my raging coffee addiction?” I tell them it must’ve happened somewhere along my college experience even though I know that deep down it started a long long time ago. A time when it was just me, my mother and a blue raspberry coolatta.