Caffeine Overdose or Being Dramatic? Let’s Find Out!

On Wednesday, I had 2 exams. One at 12pm and one later at 6pm. Tuesday, I had only 3 hours of sleep and was at school from 10am to 5pm. I got home, did quick homework, studying before passing out at 8:30pm. I woke up again at midnight and continued studying all through Wednesday morning. I had my teacher-approved cheat sheet printed out and ready to go. There was more information this time so I wrote the 5x7 paper in 2pt Arial font. I had half a Red Bull before leaving for class and was off speeding on the freeway again.

No matter how many questions I add to the cheat sheet or no matter how much I “study”, I never get the results I desire. Because the font was so small, I spent 70% of the time scanning my cheat sheet for answers that may or may not even be on there. The tiny font made me concentrate really closely to the paper and because of that, all my peripherals were just of small tiny letters. At one point, I got so dizzy from just scanning the cheat sheet inside and out. I ran out of time at the end, and ending up just plainly guessing for maybe 15 of the questions left. The whole exam was 50 multiple choice questions and 3 extra credit questions. In the end… I got a 58%. All that effort for an F. Whatever. Honestly, the first exam I got 62% and was still able to hold an A in the class for a good while. This exam just set me back a little and I’m currently sitting pretty at an 86% in the whole class.

After the first exam, I had 3 hours before my 4:30 class, so I decided to utilize that time to study for the second exam. Studying in the library was fine and I had the other half of the Red Bull to keep me company. For my next class, the teacher had invited in a guest speaker for the whole period (a.k.a. fuck around and pretend you’re interested in what the guy’s saying to get participation points). I’d like to blame it on his monotone voice that halfway through I was feeling insanely sleep deprived. My head was cocking back in the middle of lectures, and I concluded this state of living is not ideal to be in a test-taking mind later. A few months back, I’d bought a 5-hour energy drink from a gas station and kept it in my backpack for an “emergency”. Guess here’s the emergency.

I was scared that if I was this tired, when I’d be reading the exam questions later, I would be too tired to even comprehend what the words were asking for. Have you ever been reading a report for class and no matter how many times you reread it, you just can’t follow along or even understand what the words on the paper are? Yea, I was scared of that happening. Not to mention, that professor is a complete dick and gave us a 100-question midterm. I did as the directions said and only took half the bottle for “moderate energy”.

THIS WAS MY BIGGEST MISTAKE. It hadn’t even been 15 minutes and I thought I was going to pass out. My heart rate felt like it was pulsing faster than the speed of light. I couldn’t even keep up with my own thoughts. I was thinking so many things and didn’t want to slow down to even grasp a single, continuous statement. A club officer in the class had noticed me and whispered, “Lia, your fingers are shaking.” I flexed my hand out in front of me with fingers spread apart in attempt to regain control of them, but some fingers wouldn’t stop vibrating. It wasn’t completely spazzing out, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t keep them still. I had so much energy inside me; I didn’t know if I wanted to run a mile nonstop or to punch 20 holes into the wall. I was suddenly so energized but had no outlet for it. Instead, I had to stay still in my seat for the next 10 minutes before being let out.

Once we were free to go, I decided a good release for some of this energy was to run to my next class. I said goodbye to the other club officer and sprinted out. I get there slightly before 6pm and used some of that time to set up my area. For the exam, since it was in-person but online, the teacher had the students sit on the opposite side of the desks and leave our computers at full brightness, so he could verify that we weren’t cheating on other websites. We began the exam, and I realize how much of a dumbass I am. Before, I thought that if I was too tired, I wouldn’t be able to comprehend what I was reading. Now, I had too much energy. I would begin reading the question, but would feel impatient at how long the question was so I skipped reading the latter portion and randomly chose an answer based on what I thought the question WOULD be asking for. This energy boost made me feel like I wanted to do everything at once at the fastest speed possible, but reading the whole question was slowing me down. So to compensate, I just nipped it after the first 5 or so words, and chose an answer based on “vibes”. I finished the 100 multiple choice questions in less than 50 minutes and left in an (unnecessary) rush. Can you guess what I got? (Hint: I am a very consistent student.) So, similar to the first exam that day, I scored a 57%. Fucking whatever. I guess sleep deprived or not, I’m just a terrible student.

You’d think that’d conclude my day, but I actually had a tech meeting to go to right afterwards. As a non-coffee drinker, all this caffeine was messing with me. The tech meeting was in a conference room on the third floor. When I stepped foot out of the elevator. I felt incredibly dizzy. I found the room before any professionals had shown up, so it was just filled with anticipating club members. I walked in, but the floor felt like it was moving; side-to-side, up-and-down. I could barely keep my balance. Oddly to note, having an overdose of caffeine makes you feel the same symptoms as being drunk. I tried to compose myself by talking to some of the club members, but instead, all the word vomit came out. You know how when you talk, you usually think about what you’re going to say, you mentally double-check if it’s appropriate, and then you finally say it? Yea no. I had so much energy, I was just immediately saying everything I was thinking. Purely, genuinely, with no filter. It did not change when the company professionals came either.

Case in point: Every tech meeting, free food is served. This week, the club ordered catering for a baked potato bar. As everyone was getting food on their plate, I said out very loudly, “Oh my god, you guys…these are literally hot potatoes.” One company professional genuinely laughed out loud, but right after those words left my mouth I wanted to cringe and combust.

Another case in point: I asked one of the company professionals why she wasn’t eating. She simply replied that she didn't wanted to eat yet, but would be after her presentation. Just as quickly as the thought came into my head, I very swiftly agreed, “Yea you wouldn’t want those chunks to be flying out when you’re talking.” Kill me. I mentally face palmed so hard. Now why the fuck would I think it would be a good idea to say that to such a high ranking company professional? She laughed, but I wanted disintegrate.

TLDR: Red Bull is enough. If you’re not doing manual labor, there is NO REASON for you to be taking a 5-Hour Energy.

P.s.: The website for my email has been crashed for about the past 3 weeks. If there were emails sent to me, I haven't been able to read or reply yet. There are also some of you I wanted to check up on so hehe be on the lookout when this situation gets fixed.