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I have never loved the taste of coffee, coke or any caffeinated beverage but yet I was always drawn to them. Why? The effect. I loved the effect it had on me. I had more energy, it gave me the ability to stay up for longer hours in the night and be awake enough to get work done.

I wasn't always an addict. I believe honestly no one is because an addiction is something which grows on you and after the years go past you become dependent on it. An addiction is rather like a plant, if you nurture it and feed it will grow healthy but with out pruning and control it's growth becomes wild and uncontrollable.

I remember vividly the first time I actually enjoyed the effect of coffee. It was about three years ago, I had been awarded the chance to have a strong cup of coffee which had me, to use the expression of a friend 'flying as high as an UFO.' From then on, I wanted it. It started with coaxing my sister to make me it, with coffee mate, sugar and all that jazz.

And then I started needing, well what I thought was needing something stronger. You see, as usual I had gotten myself involved in a project which was an extra circular activity and I was giving it my all. It was the RBTT Young Leaders programme and I was highly devoted to it. I would be in school every day working on the project until five which is only because I live an hour away from school and my mom didn't want me traveling alone at the time. On top of working so hard at the project, I still had to balance my school work since I was determined to stay on top of the class and I was also writing a major examination.

All my activities complied with my grievances with my friends and family started getting to me and I felt myself becoming tired. I needed to stay wake longer in the nights and I needed to be fresh for school.

No one ever knew though because I refused to make myself appear weak in the eyes of others and I didn't want to seem overwhelmed. Hence to keep up my happy, bouncy appearance , I used caffeine.

In coffee, the amount of 'impurities' was reduced and then I began making it stronger and stronger.

My answer, the solution to all my problems was caffeine.