It was the last morning of the worst week of the semester – finals week. I had rolled out of bed just in time to realize that I had overslept yet again and was going to have to sprint to my exam. This isn't an ideal morning for anyone, but it gets even worse. In my chaotic dash to the exam, I had to skip almost every part of my daily routine. No makeup, my hair wasn't brushed, and I didn't have my morning coffee.

Cue the record scratch, heart-stopping panic, followed by a wave of exhaustion.

Every. Single. Day. I had my morning cup of coffee. Regardless of what I chose from the menu, I knew I always needed the caffeine to give me an extra boost. This was never a problem to me, never a concern so long as I knew where I'd be getting my next cup.

It wasn't until my final exam that I realized my coffee drinking was definitely a problem. I made it to the exam on time, but I couldn't focus on a single question. Like any college student during finals week, I was exhausted, and thanks to oversleeping, I was missing my daily dose of caffeine. I managed to pull myself together for the exam, snap out of my coffee-deprived state, and took the world's longest nap when I got home.

I was letting coffee dictate my entire life, and I didn't even realize it. I was so focused on everything else, trying to get more sleep, trying to go to bed earlier, and looking for time to fit in naps, that I didn't realize what the real problem was. Any time I strayed away from coffee I found myself needing it even more than ever.

So I decided to quit. Completely cold turkey. After three months of never looking back, I can confidently say that it was a great change to my lifestyle. When I stopped drinking coffee, the first few days were so rough. I couldn't wake up with any less than three alarms, I was running late for everything, and I was constantly tired. But as the days went by, I started to see some major improvements in my daily life.

I became less dependent on what I drank and started to give more focus to the foods I was putting in my body. It was only after I gave up coffee that I realized how much damage I was doing to my body. My daily coffee was nearly 400 calories, and sometimes I had upwards of three a day. Considering that someone my age should be averaging around 2,000 calories a day, I was drinking more than half of my recommended calories in coffee!

Without coffee, my mornings are so much easier. Since I never expect to get an extra boost from caffeine, I wake up feeling a lot better and much less groggy. I can get myself out of bed before the second alarm, and actually feel more refreshed. I never have to worry about forgetting to grab a drink in the morning or getting random mid-afternoon headaches.

If you've ever considered dropping coffee for good, I could not recommend it enough. I didn't think that I'd be able to quit so cold turkey, but after the first few days of sleepy mornings, I never missed coffee. Instead of missing coffee, I look forward to having more energy and being in charge of what I put into my body.