My first time drinking caffeine

College is a time for new experiences. Living on our own for the first time, we meet new people, take new classes, live in new places and try new things.

Even though I’m in my third year here at Utah State University, one of the things I had never tried was an energy drink. I’ve had friends who would drink them all the time and start bouncing off the walls, or use them to keep going until late in the nights. Personally, I just didn’t feel the need to use them.

I’ve never been a caffeine drinker, actually.

Growing up, my parents were careful to limit my brother’s and my caffeine intake. The most exposure to caffeine came from the chocolate we ate or from the sips we took from my dad’s Dr. Pepper. Tiny amounts.

Even in high school, when my friends and peers would drink a 5-hour energy, or a Monster to help keep themselves awake after doing homework or hanging out with friends all night, I somehow managed without needing the extra energy.

Lately though, I’ve been wondering about what it’s like to drink caffeine. How would it affect me, compared to other people I’ve talked to? How long would it last? What does the crash feel like?

This weekend, I decided to try one and see. Because of my investigative nature, I treated this like an experiment. I used my phone to record my thoughts and how I was feeling as the night went on.

It was 8:45 pm this Saturday when I opened the can of Rockstar I had brought home. My first reaction was surprise as I took my first sip and found that it was carbonated and tasted like medicine.

“I feel like I want to throw up because that stuff really doesn’t taste good,” I recorded on phone 15 minutes later. I had downed about a third of the can already. “It really tastes like carbonated cough syrup and leaves a bad taste in your mouth, and I’ve been burping because of the carbonation.”

Twenty minutes after that, I started to feel jittery. I was bouncing around and singing, though I couldn’t tell if it was because of the caffeine or if it was because I was listening to some of my favorite music while doing the dishes. It was probably a mixture of both. I had a quarter of the Rockstar left when I checked in with my phone.

I finished the can half an hour later after getting distracted by making banana bread. It was 9:54, and I was feeling less jittery than before, but my hands were still shaking a little.

“Okay, I’m going to be adventurous,” I told my phone a few minutes later. “My banana bread is out of the oven, I still have music playing in the background, it’s 10:00 and I’m going to start on my second Rockstar.”

This one went down faster than the first. I guess it’s an acquired taste because it wasn’t so bad this time around. I was definitely high on motivation and energy though. 25 minutes later I checked in with my phone, and the kitchen had been cleaned. The counters and cabinets were wiped down, the floor was swept and mopped and the magnets and notes on the fridge were reorganized.

“The fridge is a mess, why is it so cluttered up and how did it get this way and why does it bother me so much right now?” I told my phone in annoyance.

I started to feel a drop in motivation and energy, shortly after I finished the second Rockstar. It was around 11:00 and I had cleaned the back porch windows, tidied up most of the living room, and even started to vacuum before I remembered what time it was.

At that time, I was thinking it was too bad I didn’t grab a third Rockstar to try, because I had realized that I had homework due the next morning, which meant I needed to stay up for a few more hours.

“I feel kind of floaty and dizzy, like the world is spinning while I’m sitting still,” I checked in half and hour later after I had been sitting and working on my homework.

I’m guessing this was the crash, because I was feeling tired and lethargic at this point. I was also starting to feel nauseous. It got worse while I finished my homework.

“I think I’m glad that I didn’t get that third rock star like I wanted to,” I updated before going to bed. “If I did I probably would be throwing up by now.”

I was feeling better by morning, but I learned my lesson about drinking too many Rockstars at once.

For my first experience with energy drinks, I guess it wasn’t all that bad. I wasn’t very impressed with how long the energy lasted, though I could probably attribute that to the big dinner I had a few hours before I started the experiment. It did help motivate me to clean the kitchen though, and the living room. That was a plus.

Overall, I’m glad I tried this at least once so I can know what to expect the next time I feel the need for a boost.

—miranda.lorenc@gmail.com

@miranda_lorenc

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