School starts everyday at 7:20 sharp, but some students get up hours before. Some students get up to practice for marching band. Some do early morning sports practice. Some wake up to grow their faith and attend church. How do these students handle waking up so early?

The answer to most would be caffeine. A central nervous system stimulant that causes increased alertness. It is in soda, coffee, energy drinks, and many more.

So which of these drinks is most popular for highschool students? Which do kids prefer? How often do kids drink caffeine? Does it really help? Each answer is different to every kid.

Sophomore Emma Nolan says her preferred drink is coffee. She says she has it about once a week just to keep her on the path. “Honestly, it just keeps me awake. It does not help me work harder, just keeps me awake.” Nolan said. She also says she prefers it over energy drinks because it tastes better and it doesn’t have as much caffeine.

Junior Nate Eckardt disagrees. He drinks a Reign energy drink each day. “I drink it to stay awake and I have an addiction,” Eckardt said. He says when he doesn’t have one he gets a headache. It may be worth it because when he does drink one he claims he works harder in school.

Sophomore Avery Bowen also drinks energy drinks. However, she drinks Monster only a couple of times a week. Bowen says, “I drink it to actually function in my classes and not fall asleep in my classes.” She also says when she doesn’t have one, it’s harder to stay awake in school. However when she does it helps her stay awake and work harder.

Freshman Clark Carpenter takes a different approach. He drinks a Dr. Pepper at school everyday. Like others, he says it helps him wake up and work harder in school. So why does he drink soda instead of things with more caffeine?

“It tastes better and it still wakes me up,” Carpenter answers.

Sophomore Bradley Hudson takes a whole different side. He drinks no caffeinated drinks at all. “Most caffeine drinks are not that good,” Hudson said. Hudson sometimes feels like he needs a boost in second and third hour but never thinks about drinking caffeine.

“I don’t like spending money on drinks like that,” Hudson reasons.

These are what students think about caffeinated drinks. How does the school respond to this?

Well, many clubs and organizations take advantage. FCCLA sells coffee on Fridays. The cafeteria has hot and iced coffee every morning. There is a vending machine in the commons that sells soda.

But what do teachers think about students drinking these?

“I think students drink it a little too much, a girl told me she was on her sixth monster of the day one time” – Mr. Evans

“I think we have to wake up so early that they need some sort of caffeine” – Mrs. Hickerson

“Caffeine wrecks your stomach, you get addicted to it, and it costs a lot of money. I don’t drink caffeine at all, and I don’t think it’s a good idea. Have some orange juice instead.” -Mr Bertenshaw

Everyone deals with waking up in different ways. However, we may start to see more and more people start on this caffeine craze.