Peer Pressure & Coffee in Cosmopolitan Melbourne

“I’m giving up coffee,” I told my friends. They would respond with laughter and disbelief: “Who gives up coffee? I’ll believe it when I see it!” Coffee is a drug that has become socially acceptable, but it is rather terrible for many people’s health. The real reason I am giving up coffee is because of health complications with ulcerative colitis. For me and 75,000 other Australians, coffee can be really, really bad for our stomachs. Nurses and doctors are cheering me on, applauding me for coming to my senses. Which is nice, as I am thankful for the encouragement.

The problem, however, is with the rest of society. Melburnians simply refuse to accept my new way of lifestyle. It is as if the concept is so ridiculous, so absurd, that they brush off every attempt I make at my commitment to quitting. “Health reasons” is not an acceptable answer. I learned early on to change my excuse for acquaintances and colleagues. When I said “health reasons” to them, they would scoff at me, saying, “Nah, one cup a day is good for ya! It has antioxidants! No calories!” I am not about to explain to them that I have an autoimmune disease and what that entails. I do not care enough, and neither do they.

Now, I have two options. I can lie, or I can really lie. I could live a pseudo persona, pretending I have already had my coffee of the day, it being a ritual I simply never practice in public. My other option lies in, well, more lies. I could say, “Oh, it just gives me the jitters” or “I just don’t like the taste of it.” Lies, all lies!

At this point, I started looking at it from an addict’s perspective, because let’s face it, caffeine is a drug, and I feel like a recovering addict. I theme my mood swings “tantrum child,” “sleepy beauty,” and “dizzy maiden.” It is the routine, the friendship, the loyalty that I miss the most. It is the warm aroma of caffeine as I take my spoon and make the little wave of foam on my cappuccino. It is the sensation of the perfectly steamed milk greeting my lips with a “why hello there, Gorgeous!” It is my best friend in the morning, always eager to get my day started off bright and alert. Society is a constant pressure, making coffee drinking a Cool Kids’ club, to each his own corner café. It is middle school all over again, where I just ever so slightly do not fit in, and it makes me uncomfortable as I feel the looks from others make me blush with embarrassment.

Maybe success is all in the surrounding support system. Once my friends got over the disbelief and saw that I was committed, things brightened up. Anna, for example, ordered a hot chocolate and shared with me. That got me through Tuesday’s misplaced routine. Jenni accepted to replace the 11am coffee with sushi. That got me through Wednesday. On Thursday, Mark ordered a chai latte for me, and a cappuccino for himself. My boyfriend showed his solidarity by voluntarily joining me in my misery, experiencing many more physiological consequences than I did.

At the end of the day, this decision certainly proves that it became a much bigger [or]deal than I had anticipated. As a recent graduate, I comfort myself in knowing that I am saving a potential $1,000 a year. The world also does not necessarily need more take away cups lined with petroleum wax, and landfills do not need more coffee lids. Coffee is a luxury, and one that I will miss dearly. I just wish society would let me do it in peace.