Going bananas for coffee in Nashville

by Alex Hawkins

Hey, guys! It’s your friendly neighborhood Alex back from spring break! I’m feeling great after getting to go home to Texas and seeing my family. As you guys have followed me on my quest to find some of the best local coffee shops that me and my friends love to go to, I think I’ve found my favorite one in Nashville, Tennessee. So, buckle up, creampuffs! We’re headed to the urban jungle.

Just outside of Downtown Nashville, you’ll find 12 South. 12 South is like this strip of restaurants, coffee shops, stores and even cookie shops that tourists and locals alike love to go to. You’ll see owners walking their pets, cute babies getting pushed in strollers, attractive runners running down the street…OK maybe that last one was my opinion. Anyway, out of the three coffee shops that I went to on 12 South, Frothy Monkey was my favorite.

Frothy Monkey 12 South

Nestled on the block between a boutique called Moda and a grass plot, which in the fall is a pumpkin patch, Frothy Monkey is a chain of local coffee shops found only in Tennessee. The one on 12 South is the first Frothy Monkey location and one of the first businesses on 12 South.

12 South Pumpkin Patch

This isn’t like any other coffee shop that you’ve ever been to. Frothy Monkey serves some of the weirdest coffee combinations you could ever think of, such as the monkey mocha and golden monkey. Not to mention they serve breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

The monkey mocha (my favorite) is its signature mocha drink, so it has all the components of a regular mocha but with a twist. Instead of only having chocolate syrup like in a normal mocha, Frothy Monkey puts chocolate syrup and BANANA syrup. When you try it for the first time, it is a little weird tasting banana in coffee, but then it’s like, “Hey! This is actually really good!”

Breakfast at Frothy Monkey with a cup of monkey mocha

My friend David’s favorite is the golden monkey. It’s pretty weird because this cup of coffee contains “golden turmeric milk, honey, topped with cinnamon and turmeric root.” Not my cup of joe personally, but David really likes it.

If you have a coffee shop that you really love and is different than most, tell me about it in the comments below. Who knows, the next post could be about it!

Until next time, friends…Keep it kinda classy!

Dependent procrastinators become independent time managers

by Alex Hawkins

Hey, guys! It’s your friendly neighborhood Alex back one again for another post! Today is going to be another lesson that we have learned as college students. Do you remember my good friend Annie from “Coffee that comes from the Land Down Under“? She and I have decided to team up once again to explain how college has helped us become better time managers, but also more independent. So, let’s begin!

“In high school, I had my parents reminding or telling me to do things like get a job, do homework, study, and so on,” says Annie. ” Now that I have a lot more free time because I’m not taking eight classes every day, I learned how to balance a job, a social life, and school all together. Because I have a large amount of free time, I would go out and do other things, and I struggled with choosing a time to do homework. I have learned how to manage time better because you can’t choose to one over the other. You have to learn how to do it all together.”


When I was in high school, I procrastinated so bad that sometimes I would start papers that were due at midnight the morning it was due. I was terrible at time management. As I completed my first semester and am now half way through my second semester in college, I learned that I can’t do the same things I did in high school.


Tests and papers in college have more weight on a final average because some of the professors don’t give homework for you to bring your grade up. You really have to know how to make time in your schedule for studying, researching and practicing what you learned rather than always hanging out with friends, playing billiards or watching Netflix.


I also learned from a very young age that I can’t always depend on others to get me through school. I have to do it on my own. I missed birthday parties, hanging out with my friends and even family vacations because I had to do school work. Like Annie said above, my mother also always pushed me to study hard and make good grades in high school. Now that I’ve moved away from home, it’s all up to me to push myself to do the best work I can possibly do. Not only has it shaped me into the person I am today, it also made me realize that I don’t need to rely on anyone but myself because only I can show professors and potential graduate schools what I am capable of.


Not only did Annie and I learn how to manage time better and become more independent, Annie also learned that she is not as caffeinated on most days like I am, and I learned how to cook for friends (Annie agrees that the tacos that I made were really good). So remember, friends, if you aren’t good at time management now, learn how to get better at it. It will make you more independent.


Don’t forget, if you have any life lessons that you want to share, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below. Until next time…Keep it kinda classy!

“Failure is always an option.”

by Alex Hawkins

Guess who! It’s your friendly neighborhood Alex back again! Thank you to all of those who took the poll in the last post. It was very helpful in knowing what my peoples want. So, I’m back again with another life lesson that I have learned in my college experience. You may be asking, “Alex, what do you mean when you say ‘failure is always an option’?” Well, let me enlighten you.

When I was in high school, I was a straight-A student. I never got anything below a 90 average if I could help it. As I transitioned into my life here at Lipscomb, I had a rough time with one of my classes (biology, to be specific). I knew deep down after my first test that I would not be making an A in that class…ever.

Starting out with a class average of 64 (lab grade included) was a tough pill to swallow for me. I thought my whole world was crashing down before me in a fiery mass. It made me consider if college was even the right option for me.

In that time, I wanted to drop out of college and give up on my dream of going to medical school. All I wanted to do was go back to Texas, drown myself in a gallon tub of Blue Bell strawberry ice cream and watch NCIS all day. But after my two-week pity party, I remembered a quote that I kept off of the show, Mythbusters. “Failure is always an option.”

The original Mythbusters

Before this moment, I never really understood the meaning behind why failure could be considered an option. I knew what it was like to fail a test, and it never really affected me because I could always ask for extra credit or something to help bring my grade up.

But college is so different than high school.

Extra credit is nonexistent, and failing one test could be the difference whether or not you pass the class (especially when you only have four test grades and no homework). But this quote kept resonating in my head. I remembered that the Mythbusters were well-renowned scientists, and they constantly had experiments that they busted or, in other words, failed.

After talking with various important people in my life, I came to terms with the fact that it’s OK to fail. We, as humans, were not created to always succeed in the things we want to accomplish. We need things like a failure in our lives so that we can take a step back from the small picture and look at the whole picture.

Because of my failing the first test and having a GPA-wrecking average, I learned that it’s okay not to be good at everything. Heck, it’s OK to be terrible! As long as you keep trying your hardest, giving it your best effort, and never giving up. You will succeed eventually. Look at me, I passed my biology class after failing for a solid half a semester.

If you have any life lessons that you want to share, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below. Remember, friends, you’ve got this! Until next time…Keep it kinda classy!