Photos by Julia Donlon
This week marks Coffee Monday’s 100th interview! Over the course of the past year and a half, I have gotten to know 100 amazing individuals. Over 100 hours and 100 cups of coffee later, I’ve listened to what people are passionate about, what they hope for in this world and what makes them, them.
Coffee Monday is a movement that I started in 2017 to cultivate an atmosphere of inclusiveness and inspire deeper relationships. It has picked up traction, with almost 1,000 followers on Instagram.
During a weekly one-hour coffee date, I spend time with someone and share his or her story with the rest of the world, hopefully encouraging everyone else to take the time to have coffee with someone new.
For the 100th interview, I got to know Jonathan Cottrill at the Starbucks on campus over a cold brew.
Jonathan Cottrill from Columbus, Ohio is a sophomore Public Relations major with an Intercultural Studies minor at Pepperdine University. Cottrill said a goal he has in life is to be the best he can be in whatever he does. His favorite people in the entire world are his parents, who just recently came out to watch him perform in Songfest, Cottrill said.
“If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would definitely be anything chocolate,” Cottrill said.
Cottrill said he is passionate about pop culture as well as dancing, having taken dance classes since the sixth grade. Recently, he was the choreographer for the Eta Theta Tau Songfest group, so if you got a chance to see a performance and see him around campus, congratulate him on great choreography!
We continued our conversation by talking about things that inspire him.
“Seeing other people’s achievements inspires me,” Cottrill said. “Also seeing others create and perform art inspires me as well.”
Cottrill said a moment in his life that made him feel alive was the first time he went to Europe on vacation and experienced a different culture.
“It made me feel free and realize that we are so small in the grand scheme of things; the world is so big,” Cottrill said.
“My favorite part of Pepperdine is definitely the people — from the people who make my breakfast with a smile in the morning to my friends I see while walking to class; they’re all great,” Cottrill said.
During the coffee date, Cottrill and I discussed his purpose in life.
“It changes every day,” Cottrill said. “Sometimes I think my purpose is to start a civil rights movement, while other days I think it’s to sell everything and go backpacking around the world.”
We ended our conversation with the best advice he said he could give to someone:
“You can fail at what you don’t like just as easily as you can fail at what you do, so you might as well do what you love.”
Take the time to have coffee with someone new!
Check out the Coffee Monday’s social media and website for all of its interviews, and check out the Graphic’s Life and Arts Section to follow our weekly column.
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