Dr. Pepper, to most people, is just a drink. Some love it, and some hate it. But for senior Gabriella Perez, she doesn’t just like the drink; she absolutely adores it for the memories behind the taste, the color, and, of course, the brand itself. In fact, she’s known to her classmates at Pembroke Pines Charter High School (PPCHS) to constantly be drinking the soda at every opportunity.
Perez has been a part of the Charter system ever since elementary school. She is from the Dominican Republic and has three sisters. She holds a passion for music and has been playing the violin and piano for years, but she plans to enter the dentistry industry after graduation.
Perez thoroughly enjoys her time with her three sisters and cherishes the memories that the four of them share. One of them introduced her to Dr. Pepper nine years ago when she was still in elementary school. That introduction marked the start of an obsession that would carry on for years to come.
“At first I didn’t like it, but I drank it anyway because I thought the can was a pretty color,” recalls Perez. “Now that I’m old, I still love the drink, and that iconic red color is one of my favorites.”
She describes it as a nostalgic drink, which is one of the reasons she loves it so much. It reminds her of the times her sisters would go out together. Taking just one sip of the carbonated, sweet soda transports her back to memories she had made with her sisters.
“It reminds me of getting to go out with my sisters, sort of like it was our own secret ritual for us to have girl time. Those memories carry over, and now the drink just brings me good memories,” says Perez.
Perez’s love for Dr. Pepper extends far past just drinking it. She loves it so much that the brand’s merchandise consumes a giant portion of her closet. For her 18 birthday, she made it Dr. Pepper themed and decorated the place with the beverage’s logo plastered everywhere. Even her birthday cake was branded with Dr. Pepper.
From her original distaste to her awakened love 9 years ago, Perez will continue to create new memories involving her sisters and especially her favorite soda. Let’s hope that she won’t influence her dentist patients to drink Dr. Pepper!
