Galentine’s Day is a day we celebrate our lady friends.  This day reminds us to celebrate the bada$$ women in our lives and reminds us that we only truly rise when we bring up other people with us.

In 2018, it is an interesting time to be a woman. With the #MeToo movement, we are thinking of our rights, our careers, our passions, and our paychecks. I am relying on my bada$$ lady gang to give pep-talks and the loving pressure I need to push myself toward my goals. This time in my life (as referenced in my post about turning 25) is dedicated to finding myself and my struggle: What will I commit my time and energy to? What is important and brings me joy to work toward? What values do I want to foster within myself? Along with finding myself, I have a responsibility to help push my friends toward their goals and be there when they need a pep-talk, a hug, or someone to share a pint of Ben and Jerry’s with. As exemplified by @LibbyVanderploeg‘s graphic of women lifting up other women, we must work to rise and help others rise alongside us.

I feel incredibly lucky to be supported by such a great group of powerful, empathetic, brilliant, and hilarious women. Every year, I celebrate my female support system on Galentine’s Day by mobile-ordering anything from Starbucks that the members of my bada$$ lady support system want. I use Starbucks rewards because I rack them up like crazy and I can’t use them at the Starbucks on campus.

How to do this?

Before Galentine’s Day: Text your friends the day before Galentine’s Day to collect all the necessary information. You will need to know what your friend would like to order, the address of the Starbucks of their choice (closer to work? close to home? near their favorite Anti-Trump protest spot?), and what time they would like to pick up their order. I usually accompany this text with a quick explainer on how the Galentine’s Day reward will work and a thank you for being the stellar human being that they are.

**Stay organized: I usually do this with a spreadsheet. I enter my friend’s name, their order, the location and the time that they would like it ordered. I then sort the sheet by time so that I have a semi-schedule of when to order.

On Galentine’s Day, about five minutes before your friend is expected to pick up her order:

1. Go to https://www.starbucks.com and login to your Starbucks account. You should be brought to a screen that looks similar to the mobile app. It is best to do this on a computer as it is easier to search addresses out of your vicinity. This year it was really helpful for addresses in Seattle, New York, and Delhi!
2. Click order in the left-hand corner of the screen and select what your friend would like. Unfortunately, there is no search but the categories are well designated for ordering. Here, you will make any alterations that your friend wants: an extra shot of espresso, almond milk, extra whipped cream, etc.
3. Click on the bottom of the screen (middle), you will see “For item availability, choose a store.” At this point, you can enter the address of the Starbucks of your friend’s choice.
4. Once you have selected the store and have the order set, you can select “add to order.” Then select the small green bag at the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Here, it will notify you if the items are available at the store of your friend’s choosing.
5. Once you have reviewed your order, click the green checkout at the lower right-hand corner and then click on order. You will then have an order slip to screenshot and send to your friend.
6. They can then pick it up and send you a selfie!

Happy Galentine’s Day to all women changing their communities, fostering love, encouraging communication, standing up for people who have no voice, and learning to love themselves!