The Search for Aspen

Going so far away from home I had to leave a lot of things behind: my family, my friends, and my dog (which was a really depressing farewell). I lived in Stillwater, Oklahoma for all eighteen years of my life so it is all I know as home. I found comfort and security in all of the quaint features such as locations and people. Outside of my actual house, one place in particular felt exceptionally "homey." My home away from home was a trendy coffee shop called Aspen.

Aspen is a is a hidden gem of my hometown. It started out as just one rustic coffee shop in the heart of our old southern styled downtown, and because of it's overwhelming popularity and success, Aspen has expanded to three different store fronts, affectionately referred to as
Hipster-spen: the original downtown location
Mom-spen: the calmest location situation in a little shopping center
and
Frat-spen: the newest location constantly swamped by college students

In highschool, whenever my friends and I would get together, it was never "whose house should we go to?" but "which Aspen should we go to?"
While we were at Aspen the minutes turned to hours, and before we knew it we had spent the day casually drinking granitas (the best frappuccino you will ever have) and blended chais (essentially Christmas in a cup). Because of the endless amount of time spent at Aspen, it fosters some of my favorite memories.

When I walk into Aspen at home, I am immediately immersed in a sense of comfort, and I am basically guaranteed to see a familiar face. In my mission to make State College feel like home, I am searching for an Aspen substitute and to put it bluntly, it is not going well.

Starbucks seems like the place to go here, but I refuse to conform. With one look at me and at my background people assume that I am the preppy stereotypical cheerleader type, and I do not need to walk around with Starbucks in hand to help fuel the validity of the assumptions. By the way, I may have been a cheerleader, but I proudly defy the stereotypes.

Starbucks is housed directly in the middle of the mainstream, if you will. To find a more sufficient Aspen equivalent I opted to try a slightly more obscure place and discovered Saint's Cafe. I loved how cozy the small coffeeshop was but there was one issue which I couldn't handle-it was completely silent. I looked around and saw that everyone appeared to be the "hipster type" and was furiously working in the absence of noise. At Aspen there is always a low buzz of comfortable conversation and chill music. Again, I had made an attempt and failed. 

The search continued for my safe haven of a coffee shop until finally I realized that that was not what would make Penn State feel like home. I needed to stop assuming that I would have an Aspen equivalent to escape whatever uncertainties or second guesses I was having at college. My perfect place wasn't preexisting, already waiting for me; instead, it is my duty to sculpt it. I need to put forth effort to get what I want for a college experience and that rests in the people. It may be a slow process, but I'm building a new sense of community with some outstanding people. It may not be what I was expecting, but my friends are my little piece of comfort, not a coffee shop.