Two Reasons Why Coffee is Simply the Best

Now, I’m not one of those strange people that have loved coffee their entire life. Oh, no, no, no, in fact I hated the stuff until my first semester in college, where we fell, deeply and entirely, in love with coffee. After night number four or five of getting four hours or less of sleep, I knew I needed something. Coffee was the answer. It made me feel amazing even though I knew I was horribly tired. I had clarity of thought, energy, and I could talk enough to fake it though all of my public speaking classes. A miracle had arrived and I’m reaping its benefits until this very day. Coffee is wonderful.

I’m sure some of you have similar tales of Coffee bliss, some of you simply enjoy the beverage for what it is, and maybe some of you don’t enjoy it at all. Whatever camp you’re in, I want to give you two reasons why coffee is simply the best, and why you should be drinking it.

1)It’s helping to end poverty around the world
What? Don’t believe me? It’s true. Coffee is primarily produced in impoverished parts of the world like Africa, Asia, Central and South America, while it is primarily consumed in Europe and North America. Reports range anywhere from $80-800 million brought into Ethiopia last year from coffee sales alone.  What’s great about this money is that it’s not just a hand out, but a sustainable business that provides a growing number of jobs for a struggling economy. It’s like the old saying, give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. This is what’s happening in Africa and South America right now. Through growing, harvesting, and selling coffee, they are improving their economic standing in the world. So go do the world some good, grab a cup of coffee.

2) It’s actually good for you.

That’s right; it’s not just a cup of liquid energy and happiness. It’s much more than that. It’s the number one source of antioxidants in an American diet. It promotes sustained brain activity even after its initial effects have worn off. It helps to prevent a variety of different cancers. And, it has been linked to preventing Alzheimer’s as well as type two diabetes. Honestly, the list goes on, but if preventing, easing the symptoms of, or outright eliminating some of the worst diseases in the world isn’t reason enough for you to start chugging this black gold, then I don’t know about you. You’re an odd one. So, don’t just grab a cup to make the world a better place, grab one for your own sake. You’ll be better off for it.

Thanks for reading

-Andrew Myers

Sources:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-08/acs-cin081905.php

http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/72/13/3282

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111133958.htm

http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=120795&CultureCode=en

http://likes.com/misc/12-awesome-facts-about-coffee?page=12

The Joy of Not Getting What You Want

Hey everyone, so, here’s for blog entry number one! Welcome!

In that almost none of you know who I am, I figured that I would give you some insight as to just who it is that’s writing this blog by telling you a little story about me. I’m excited, I hope you are too!

As the title suggests, this story is about not getting what you want, and that being a pretty awesome thing.

As far back as I can remember (about second grade or so) I wanted the American dream. A good job, a wife, kids, a house, stability, you know, THE American Dream. I even remember thinking to myself, at 8 years old, how awesome it was going to be to turn 18 and finally be able to achieve my goals. It was everything I thought I wanted. So, I worked hard, graduated high school at 15, had my first real job by 16, owned a brand new car by 17 and was well on my way to becoming the youngest manager in my company’s history. I was going to get what I wanted. However, life had other plans for me and it took a turn, in retrospect, for the better. I said the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time and I lost my job, had to sell my car, and had to leave home rather abruptly. I was devastated, but I wasn't going to let this be the end of my dream. So I went off to college. Surely this would be a great step towards achieving my goals.

While at college I studied hard, committed myself to being the top of my class, took 21.5 units to make sure I got my degree as quickly as possible, and worked a part time job to pay off some of my student loans. I slept about 4 hours a night and worked or studied seven days a week. However, after my first semester, I realized that there was no way I could keep getting 4 hours sleep a night thanks to a very timely cold that turned into pneumonia and had me in bed for a solid two weeks. So I slowed down, out of necessity, and strangely enough, I began to enjoy college life a bit. I slept more, I took less units,

I went to work for a tree service and got paid to climb 90 foot palm trees.

I traveled to Hawaii, Scotland, England, and Amsterdam.

I ate Pizza and Sushi in the same meal.

And went white water rafting.

Among other things...

yes, that's a pumpkin I lit on fire

Through all of these experiences I learned that life is a lot more about living and a lot less about moving from one task to another. I really came to enjoy my time at college. I spent a lot of time just hanging out with friends, getting to know new people, seeing new things, and learning about the world from experience rather than just from a textbook. I didn't get what I wanted by any means, and for that, I am eternally grateful. What I wanted out of life was nowhere near as great as what I now know is out there. I came to enjoy what life gave me rather than constantly searching for that next part of my life that was sure to make it complete.

I'm still working towards my goals, but I’m a lot more excited about the experience of getting there than I am consumed with actually being there. Here’s hoping that you too will enjoy the life you get even if you’re still working toward getting what you want. 

Thanks for reading.

-Andrew Myers