I fell asleep in class the other day. Big deal; we’ve all done it at some point only to be awakened by the angry teacher standing over us or the poor chump sitting next to us whose arm we’ve conveniently mistook for a pillow. After a few head nods and heavy blinks, I gave into temptation and decided to catch some necessary shuteye. Thankfully, no snoring, sleep talking, or drooling was involved.

Twenty minutes later, class was over. I woke up to the shuffling of seats and my professor’s piercing glare of disapproval. “Sorry,” I said as I embarrassingly exited the classroom, still a bit groggy, “I didn’t have my coffee today.” Speaking as a coffee addict, I can say that this is a legitimate excuse.

After a quick stop at Java City, my coffee fix was satisfied. During my following lecture class, while everyone was routinely checking their Facebooks, I Googled coffee, only to discover that it was once used in religious Muslim ceremonies, that it’s a major cash crop for Third World countries, and that the Boston Tea Party is to thank for increased coffee demand in the United States. Not only is it holy, it’s helpful, and sometimes hostile.

There is something about coffee that hardly anyone can resist. People travel miles out of their way during strange hours of the day just for a sip. Famous celebrities are photographed grabbing coffee with friends. And friends go to coffee to catch up on the latest gossip. It’s just a fundamental fact of living.

Without coffee, our world would be chaos. We can thank Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts for providing faithful customers with their morning dose of liquid courage. Imagine how many breakups, job losses, and mistakes could be made due to a lack of energy or negative attitude that coffee easily prevents?

I hold coffee responsible for setting my mood every morning. There is a rule among my roommates that anything said or done within the first 30 minutes of waking up doesn’t count. Within these 30 minutes, a full pot of coffee can be brewed and two full cups of coffee can be thoroughly enjoyed. It’s brilliant. They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but in our house a cup of coffee a day keeps conflict at bay.

For all you tea drinkers out there, I pity you, and entice you to join the club.

Jordan Jennings is a sophomore journalism major. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].