One Month Challenge: Coffee-Free January

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month, Megan went 4 weeks without dining out. This month, Charlotte's kicking her bean habit. At least she's gonna try....]

By Charlotte

When I first decided to do this challenge back at the start of November, I was cocky. I’m not a big coffee drinker anyway so I figured it wouldn’t be too hard. And it’s only a month, right?

But then came finals.
And then came jet-lag.

And with all that (and everything else in my life) came coffee.

And then I started to panic. How was I going to get through a whole month without a skinny latte? [Sweating.]

But I made this coffee-free bed so I guess it’s time to lie in it. For the next 31 days, I’m gonna live my life sans coffee. Note: I’m not going CAFFEINE free – oh the horror! – just bean free. And though that might seem like a cop out, I’m beginning to think that it’s anything but.

I am definitely a social coffee drinker. I mean, who can say no to “let’s grab a coffee”? And unfortunately, the coffee shop at my university doesn’t do tea (as a British girl this is my caffeinated drink of choice) so it usually ends up being a coffee. And I love waking up to the Starbucks smell of my coffee-addicted housemate every morning. And that little jolt of energy I get with my mid-day, between-classes-coffee run. Or the Sunday morning, I’m-so-hungover-I-could-die, pot of coffee that I chug as my friends and I share the horror stories from the night before.

Plus I’ve not had my red cup yet this year.

I admit, that going without coffee won’t be as hard for me as I imagine it would be for a lot of college students. But it is not going to be easy. So here’s hoping I don’t sleep my way through January and come out on the other side with a few extra bucks in my pocket.

Wish me luck, and down a few lattes for me on this brutal New Year’s day. I’m getting tired just thinking about what this month is going to bring (read: a whole lot of 5 Hour Energy).

[Check out the other One Month Challenges we've taken on. And if you've got a challenge you want to tackle (and be held accountable for), email us and we could feature you next month. Come on - it's good for you!]