I entered my freshman year as a rare species of non-coffee dependent college student. I tend to have enough energy to make it through the day as well as a body that rejects coffee upfront. Additionally, my family is not one of avid coffee drinkers. In fact, the Keurig is only brought out of the basement for extended family gatherings. Attribute this to nature or nurture, but I made it through almost my entire first year of college on about five cups of coffee. Total. If you feel that “I love coffee and coffee loves me,” as one of my suite-mates has described, this lack of caffeine intake might seem insane. However, from August to April I succeeded in avoiding the sinkhole that is an attachment to coffee. That is, until finals rolled around.
I found myself slowly drowning during final’s week at the end of my freshman year. A combination of anticipation of summer, more papers, less time, and genuinely more difficult classes pushed me into territory I had yet to embrace: the land of coffee. And by this, I mean I finally walked into Starbucks and PJs. What happened to my body over the next few days was a strange phenomena I never expected. I amped it up from five cups over the course of the whole year to two cups per day, and my body responded in ridiculous ways. I got headaches, a shaky stomach, and insane jitters that I could barely focus. But somehow, I got all of my work done and did not feel like I was falling asleep at the library anymore.
In the days after finals as I was preparing to go back home for the summer, I felt out of whack. I became dizzy and disoriented. After speculating with my friends, we realized that my body had become so dependent on coffee, even in just the few days I was drinking it normally. This makes me question my decision, along with those of many of my peers, to rely on coffee for energy. A site of unexpected controversy, born of a tiny brown bean, lies coffee. Whether you praise it as your main food group or view it as your worst nightmare, coffee has the potential to rule your college life. Spend any time on a college campus and you will see hundreds and hundreds of budding caffeine addicts. Problems of cost, sleep, and general health may arise…but is it still worth it?