Cheerio

Conversations over coffee.

By Thomas Feng

October 27^th, 2015

“I’ve never thought about it before in my life.”

It’s a Wednesday afternoon and nobody is wearing pink. Nathan and I have come to Cheerio in Lennox Street to spend quality time catching up. This year I’ve been thinking a lot about priorities and a recurring thought has been: ‘I want to be at my best for the best people in my life’. So far I’m unsure if I’ve succeeded in doing so: I’ve been generally stressed, tired and tense all semester long.

Spending time with Nathan is always soothing, hilarious and I feel as though we pick up where we left off whether it’s been days, weeks or months; I guess it’s a little odd for me not to see my best friend for a little while but I only feel (and hope) this to be temporary until university finishes.

He orders a magic and I order a soy latte; it’s delicious and makes me question why I drink coffee so infrequently. Cheerio’s vibe is little, warm and quiet: the lights hang dimly from the ceiling as people sit on cushioned benches reading the latest Broadsheet with the sounds of barista making quality cups of coffee in the background.

I’d just picked up a copy of “Above Water”, an anthology of musings by various university students. It was angsty af and I suddenly felt disconnected from people and society after reading a few poems.

“How do people talk to each other everyday? I don’t understand how people do it.” I ask. I tend to be someone who is willing to think about difficult questions and ask them to others to gather their thoughts.
“I’ve never thought about it before in my life.”
“What do people talk about? How can there be so much to say all the time? I don’t even speak to you everyday and you’re my best friend.”

For the next two hours we speak about the various factors in conversations and friendships such as its geographic location and convenience, the nature and intensity of discussions and the intimacy of the relationship. It’s really satisfying to simply chat and connect for a few hours with your close friends; I really enjoy learning new perspectives on topics which rarely pop up in conversation. I’ve realised more and more this year that I’m easily fulfilled with joy: I don’t need any fancy games/gadgets or any specific events, a good atmosphere shared with good company will more than suffice.