Today was my last day at Starbucks. (Above you can see the video I dedicated to my last week. There’s a lot of bad dancing, giggling and messy hair on my part.) I’ve been there for a year and a half now, and I feel a little bit sad. I know it’s time for me to move on to a different part of my life and as excited as I am about that, it’s extremely bittersweet for me. I’ve made some great friends and drink concoctions, met some awesome people, and have refrained from killing or drop-kicking any bitchy customers. Considering I’ve been in customer service for over five years now, I’d call this a major success. In light of my last day, I’d like to share with you what I will and won’t miss about my year and a half as a barista.

What I won’t miss:

Working Saturday shifts alone. The “give me give me give me now now now” attitude that so many feel entitled to. Constantly being on my feet. Hat hair. Occasionally faking smiles when I’d much rather tell someone where they can shove their espresso. Black Friday. Work gossip. That one time the sewer wasn’t working properly and half of my work area smelled like a rat’s ass all night.

What I will miss:

Making new friends on the clock. Long, enchanting conversations with customers. Sweet compliments from customers. The calming art of latte making. Getting paid to be an extrovert. Crazy dancing, to eclectic and random Sbux tunes, with Bryan. Jason sneaking me freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Decorated cookies from bakery for my special occasions (such as today). Julie sneaking me sandwich bites. Having laughing panic attacks induced by Katie. Food gifts from Neil. Hearing the newest on Melody’s love life. The (usually) chill and peaceful work environment. Writing “poop” on bakery’s finance board. A constant supply of vanilla soy milk and cinnamon dulce syrup.  Work gossip. Making samples. Downtime where I can lazily sip on my drink and write/do homework until the next customer comes along. Constantly being surrounded by the smell, taste and presence of all things coffee.

I’m happy to say my “miss list” is much happier than my “not miss list.” I’ve heard people say that working in customer service for too long will eventually make you hate everyone. I can’t imagine ever hating people, because people are wonderful and fascinating and awesome to me. But I will say that it has made me lose a bit of faith in humanity. Not everyone is kind and understanding. Some people are just mean for no reason and have very ugly hearts. However, for the most part, I do still believe people are generally good. Most of my customers have been kind and understanding. I can even think of one customer in particular who was pretty rude to me months back and has come back in several times after, as sweet as can be. Sometimes people just have bad days or need a hug or a kind word. Sometimes they just need to vent or talk. Most everyone deserves a second chance or at the very least forgiveness. People are still cool in my book. Still, I can’t really say if I’ll go back to Starbucks and/or customer service anytime soon,if ever. What I do know, are these things: 1. I’m going to miss it. 2. Though one of my managers informed me I could come back whenever, for now it’s definitely time for me to move on to other goals. 3. Leaving will keep me motivated to maintain the wonderful friendships I’ve made at work, outside of work. (and I will finally have time this summer to do so more often.) 4. I’m ready to start this new chapter of my life. and 5.  I am so freakin’ excited not to have hat hair anymore.