When I came to college, I swore that I would never become dependent on coffee. I had it maybe once a week during high school and it was usually a sugary Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts drink. I laughed at my friends who had to have coffee every single morning to be alert and ready to start their day. My brother, who never used to drink coffee before college, now needs to have three cups per day.

I lasted about one month of college before I finally gave in and began drinking coffee regularly. At that point, the semester had started to pick up. I was awake until 1:00 a.m. doing homework most nights and I had to be up early for my ungodly 8:00 a.m. classes. With my lack of sleep and busy schedule during the day, I knew that I needed something to keep me going, so I started having coffee every single morning.

I began to realize that coffee is my fuel in college. It makes me feel prepared to conquer the day. By October of freshman year, I could not listen to one word out of my 8:00 a.m. Spanish professor’s mouth without coffee in my system. Now, I cannot listen to any of my professors without a cup of coffee beforehand. It also became unnatural to be sitting in the library without a cup of sub-par coffee from the dining hall by my side. During finals week, I might as well have an IV of coffee running through my veins. Most people would call this an addiction, but I call it a way of life.

Some people try to tell me that coffee is not good for your body. They try to convince me that I should drink tea or some organic juice in the morning to get my energy. Unfortunately for them, I will never be convinced. I usually fire back with some facts that I've heard through the years, such as, "Coffee is good for your liver!" or, "Coffee reduces your chances of getting skin cancer!" Are these facts even true? I don't know nor do I really care. The point is, there is no replacement for coffee.

My relationship with coffee grows stronger each day, especially when classes become harder and my schedule gets busier. Thank you, coffee, for always providing me with the energy that I need to make it through the day.