It began innocently enough, one cup in the morning sometimes just to give me a head start. Then it became one cup every morning—as a necessity. Eventually, caffeine got me going each day, and I needed another cup to refuel after school. I felt like I was addicted.
I decided to take a stand and stop drinking coffee cold turkey. I thought it would be no big deal since I had given up meat two years ago.
It’s safe to say I was wrong. Very wrong.
The first morning I woke up and had to steer clear of the luring smell of the coffee brewing in our kitchen. Then, in first period, the girl sitting next to me—who I consider a friend—quickly became the girl with the Starbucks latte. By the time I got home, I was pretty proud of myself—and exhausted. I hadn’t realized how much I depended on coffee to fuel my day.
By about 7 p.m. that first day, I was sitting in the dark with the worst headache I’ve ever had. I took some medicine and went to sleep early.
It didn’t end there. The headaches were bad and lasted for a couple weeks. But the worst part was the latte I had to smell every morning during first period.
Soon, I found other ways to jump start my day. The health teacher at my school said apples did a better job of waking people up in the morning than coffee, so I ate one in the mornings. I drank a lot of water to stay hydrated, and I began drinking green tea.
Now, I can proudly say I do not need coffee every day. It’s just another drink I enjoy, like hot chocolate or milkshakes. It was much harder than giving up meat or anything else, but the headaches eventually went away and I found healthier ways to keep myself going all day.
Pallavi Bamzai, Neuqua Valley
