You know you’re in your mid-twenties when…(Part 2)

When I went to college, I became acutely aware of coffee. There was a coffee shop in our library on campus, and with around 4 hours of sleep every night, Java City knew my name and order before I got to the front of the line. Needless to say, my bank account started to dwindle due to the constant lattes and so I started actually using my coffee maker in my room each morning. This was the start of a love affair with coffee. When I started my Master’s program, I thought I would study the same as my undergrad years. That was a mistake. I learned very quickly that As and Bs are the only acceptable grades and getting a C was the equivalent of failing in grad school. No pressure. My schedule became work in the mornings, research in the afternoons, and at the time, all classes began at 6:45 at night. My first semester, I took Evolution and Environmental Physiology & Bio Adaptations of Animals. It was not uncommon to be in class until 10:30 at night while covering 4-5 chapters a night. I spent my weekends studying. Coffee was my most loyal companion during this stressful and exhausting time. But about halfway through my program, I started feeling like I was having chest pains, my heartbeat was through the roof, I couldn’t catch my breath and then I would put myself into a small panic attack. I was getting caffeine headaches when I wouldn’t have my daily cup, my stress level was through the roof, and I wasn’t sleeping. But I powered through, I needed the energy and alertness. I kept up the caffeine intake for another four months before a doctor sat me down to explain that my body is sensitive to caffeine. I was advised to cut back on anything that contained caffeine and if I was going to have a cup of coffee, it needed to be in the morning before noon or I would not be sleeping that night. However, even that was too much for my body. I switched to half caffeinated and half decaffeinated coffee. It helped, but then I decided to switch completely to decaf coffee. I was so used to my morning coffee with one cream, one sugar. The headaches stopped, the racing heartbeat calmed, and my stress levels stayed the same. I changed other habits such as working out more and trying to go to bed at a decent hour. Periodically I will be a Starbucks and forget to mention that I need a decaf caramel macchiato and I will spend the day wired. There are still days when I need that extra jolt, and I have a very small stash of regular coffee for my Keurig, that makes an appearance. Currently I am loving iced coffees, thank you summer heat. I also like to add caramel creamer and a little sugar. Interestingly enough, this past weekend, I might have had not one, but two black coffees. Of course both were my boyfriends, and they became share coffees, but I surprisingly liked it. A new change on the horizon, decaf black coffee? What happened to the girl that enjoys frappes and lattes with extra whipped cream and caramel or the pumpkin spice latte that I secretly worship? This whole growing up and tastes evolving is definitely new territory. Please someone stop me when I start ordering unsweetened iced tea… the point of no return.