My alarm goes off. I get up, shower, get dressed and head to Riverview Cafe. I eat some yogurt, a banana, an egg and drink a tall glass of milk before heading to class.

This entire process lasts about 45 minutes and happens like clockwork every day. You may have noticed at no point during my morning routine do I smash an alarm button 200 times, nor take time out of my day to slave over a liquid I need to make me seem like a person.

I see it in the morning face of every college student clutching their thermos, a death grip on both sides, as if clinging onto it for dear life. Their coffee has become the bane of their existence.

I myself have no need for the devil’s drink and run on something I like to call “natural little boy energy,” because I don’t require anything for me to leap out of bed every morning to start the day. And I’m a little boy.

I’m up every morning at 8 a.m. First class at 9 a.m? I’m up at 8. First class at 1 p.m? I’m up at 8.

I’ve never needed a cup of joe to be myself. I’ve watched as some of my friends have gone from their morning stupor of being lethargic and morose to tap dancing into this coffee persona.

There is no coffee Brian. It’s just Brian doing Brian things all day long.

I understand coffee can sometimes be a good thing, though. It’s filled with antioxidants, its smell is intoxicating and as college students, it’s a wonderful boost of morale to finish papers and projects.

However, it is addicting. According to a study by University of New Hampshire Scholars’ Repository, 40 percent of college students are drinking coffee everyday.

It can also be filled with a ton of unnecessary calories. If you want to go to Starbucks and buy a 16 oz peppermint white chocolate mocha with whipped cream, enjoy the 560 calorie thigh-burster.

And if you’re buying something like this everyday, it’s going to get expensive. The average cost of an espresso-based drink is $2.45, according to Harvard School of Public Health. If you’re an everyday drinker, this habit costs you nearly $900 a year.

I know people who have bought cars for less.

It’s nothing something you have to be addicted to. Don’t let it steal you of your hard-earned money and chiseled features. Let it be your motivator, not your life support.

We are stronger than beans. We are men and women.