In its mission statement Starbucks aspires to be a "3rd place", a place where one can find a sense of community between home and work. In a society where community is sorely lacking, a third place serves as a form of "community building". For me, whenever I feel sad and hopeless I know that a visit to my local Starbucks will alleviate the pain of social isolation. In his book The Great Good Place Ray Oldenburg asserts that 3rd places like Starbucks are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place.
All the baristas at my local Starbucks know me by both name and drink. They always ask about my day with sincere interest and offer support when they sense that I'm having a rough one. I wrote my graduate thesis at Starbucks because their support provided me with a constant source of motivation and nurturance. Their belief in me let me cultivate trust in myself. Recently, after applying for my dream job, my Starbucks crew gave me a pep talk on all the reasons I should be hired. Again, they helped me restore faith in myself when it was lacking. Today my husband went through the drive-thru and they asked him if I had received word from this prospective employer. Adam came home with this:
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