As the semester progresses slowly but surely, college campuses seem to be quickly filling up their garbage cans with empty cups of our primary fuel source: coffee. Growing up, watching our parents and other adults in our lives walking around having their morning cup of coffee or a little afternoon pick-me-up made us think that we would be able to look sophisticated and put together when we started drinking coffee too. Little did we realize that becoming just like these adults meant struggling through four years of college first.

So yes, the stereotype that college kids guzzle coffee is true for many students. Just as anything else in life, people have their preferences. In today's society there are endless options when it comes to drinking coffee. You can make your own at home with instant coffee or a coffee mate, or you can grab it on-the-go at your local favorite. Then, comes the heated debate of whether Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts is better. I am by no means here to diss Starbucks. Their beverages are great; I am personally just one American who truly runs on Dunkin'.

Life as a Dunkin' addict is a curse, but it is also a blessing in disguise.

I can openly and honestly admit that a majority of my bank account has been dedicated to my addiction since I was 14. Before softball practices, on road trips, or even just because I could see the neon sign from a mile away, all were a good enough reason to dish out $2.50 for a medium caramel iced coffee with cream and sugar. But if you are a true addict, you know exactly when the coupons show up in your mail box or when your local Dunkin' has promotions like on-the-go ordering on Flyer's or 76er's home game days.

Now normal coffee drinkers just stop for the occasional Dunkin' just to treat themselves or to be more social. That is where the addict separates from the general public. Whether it's 8 am or 8 pm, if there is a discount on a coffee we make sure we get there and take advantage of it. We manage to plan our lives around when we will be able to run to Dunkin' and get our daily dose of our favorite beverage.

So hopefully someday the coffee scientists of the world will discover a way to either make coffee cheaper or manage to get coffee as an IV drip in order to further enhance and add to the addict lifestyle. Until then, keep running on Dunkin' America and go out and get some coffee because let's be real, you were probably thinking about going right now anyway.