Molly Ellenberger is a sophomore journalism major and writes "Indiana Scones" for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
I wake up missing home, my family and my old life. Life is hard right now and the pit in my stomach is always there, and I am sure there are millions out there in the world experiencing that same ache.
Some of us may need something to grasp onto right now. When I was a little girl, I always went for my pink baby blanket or my mom’s loving hand when life got rough. Now, I live 58 miles away from my mom, and while FaceTiming helps us stay in touch, I have had to find something else that brings me comfort.
That something else has become coffee. For me, coffee eases the ache. It is more than a cup of caffeine. Every morning I grind my own coffee beans from Costco and brew a little pot of joy. The rich, silky liquid warms up my heart and gives me hope.
Before the world got messy, coffee was my life. When I would go home to visit my family, my mom and I would go to our favorite cafe, The Java Bean Cafe. We would go there for hours to talk and drink amazing coffee. Sometimes my fiance would even join us and we all would laugh for hours about new stories from college.
The Java Bean Cafe is more than a cafe, it is my haven. I’ve made so many new friends there and reunited with some old. I used to walk in and no one knew who I was. Now I walk in and the amazing ladies behind the counter know I am a regular when I come home. That cafe is where I meet new friends, connected with old and bonded with my loved ones over coffee.
Now that I can’t go to the coffee shop and I am so far from home, I have to bring that same comfort to where I’m at now. My new cafe is my couch, sitting with my fiance and dog watching old cartoons together. Just waking up every morning knowing I have a constant in my life eases the ache of the world right now. Sure, I could go through the drive through at Starbucks, but my fiance and I have made the decision to stay home through this hard, confusing time. So, I order coffee beans and hazelnut creamer from the grocery store and have it delivered to our door so I never run out and I’ll always have comfort.
For many, coffee might not be the comfort you grab and that is perfectly OK, there are so many other things that can bring comfort, too. But for me, when I wake up every morning and smell my coffee brewing, it brings me back to simpler times full of love and laughter. My coffee keeps me happy, motivated and feeling at home.
I know the world is a mess right now, but when I have that warm mug, full of hazelnut coffee, I am at peace for a while. During this scary time, instead of letting coronavirus and the state of the world get you down, reach for something comforting and safe to you. For me that will always be a warm cup of joe, but for everyone else it could be a favorite movie, a pet, fuzzy socks or even brownies.
Next time you feel scared, homesick or worried, just grab something comforting and let it bring you back to center. Every day, I go back to Saturday mornings with my mom talking for hours over coffee and it warms my heart. It eases the ache from this scary world right now.
So while I wait for the day my mom and I can go to The Java Bean Cafe, I am enjoying the memories I’ve already made.
Contact Molly with comments at mmellenberge@bsu.edu.
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