Notes on Cups
October 30, 2022
Writer: Emily Mitchell
Editor: Chava Makman
I LOVE getting smoothies from Beyond. It has become a Tuesday tradition of mine to mobile order a smoothie (only $5 if you order from the app on Tuesdays from 2-5, you’re welcome), and walk to the South University store to pick it up. A small part of my day, but a refreshing treat that I can always look forward to. (I highly recommend the Razzle Dazzle smoothie!)
Last Tuesday, I had just finished a difficult workout when I ordered my smoothie. As I walked to pick it up, I made a list in my head of everything I had to do for the rest of my day. Finish and revise my paper, study for my upcoming psych exam, upload a discussion post, come up with pitches for our next Hopelessly Yellow meeting, attend two writing center appointments: the list went on. I was so lost in my own thoughts and worries, that I was at Beyond before I knew it.
A cheerful voice called out my name as I walked in. “Hi Emily!” My eyes traveled to the source of the sound: a smiling blonde girl, one of only two very busy employees attending to a store full of customers. I grinned back at her, and rushed over to the counter to say hello. I was a member of the pom team in high school, and we often competed against teams from other schools; she was a friend from another team, a girl I had become close with despite us having gone to different high schools. I hadn’t seen her in a while, so we chatted for a minute before she handed me my smoothie. Brimming with excitement from seeing an old friend, I felt a little lighter on my walk back to my dorm, sipping my smoothie all the way home. It wasn’t until I had made it all the way to my bedroom that I turned the cup around to see a note written in Sharpie. “Hi Emily! Have a great day,” it read. I stared at it for a few seconds, before immediately taking out my phone to send her a thank you message.
Long after the smoothie was gone, I found myself thinking about her note. Touched by that simple act of kindness, those six simple words scrawled onto the side of a styrofoam cup. Something that may seem insignificant had made such an impact on me, I was still thinking about it hours later. My heart was warmed by the fact that she had taken a few seconds to make my day a little bit brighter – and it got me thinking.
What she did was something so small. I pictured her grabbing the nearest marker, writing the message on my cup, pouring the smoothie into it, and handing it to me with a smile before moving onto the next customer. The whole process probably took a minute or less. Yet here I was, remembering still how it felt when I turned my cup around and read her note, feeling some of the weight I had been carrying melt off my shoulders. It was such a mini moment, a single snowflake in a day that was a flurry of activity. Yet I felt inspired, moved even. Inspired to pick up a sharpie, to send a text, to give a compliment to a stranger. I encourage you to do the same. Random acts of kindness can be expressed in the most miniscule of ways, and yet it can have lasting impacts. It reminded me of the power of the little things in life, of small gestures with big effects. But I was also reminded to turn the cup around. Look for the beautiful in what appears to be ordinary. A disposable cup from one angle is just a cup. But on the other side, it’s a sweet message from an old friend. This is a reminder that there is so much love we can share and so much good in this world, and sometimes we just have to remember to search for it.
