Johann Sebastian Bach and I have a lot in common: good taste in music and a love of coffee. Bach wrote his cantata, Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (“be still, stop chattering”) in Leipzig during the 1730s. The surrounding coffee scene was bursting with rational thought and, obviously, devoid of women. No respectable woman could be caught thinking, let alone consuming the liquid logic that might prompt her to articulate those thoughts. In Bach’s cantata, the main character, Lieschen, refuses to give up her caffeinated vice despite her father’s demand. Instead, she writes her necessary three cups a day into her marriage contract. Lieschen represents all of us whose baseline is caffeinated; life is not worth living without coffee and you certainly shouldn’t have to endure marriage to a man without it.
Lieschen would fit right in at Smith as an audacious, authentic and free agent who demands her needs be met in order to live a life of distinction and purpose. As we hurtle towards that life of purpose, let’s not pretend we don’t owe it all to caffeine. For me, breakfast is a secondary concern as I’m running to my 8:25 a.m. class, but I never miss my first cup of coffee. A collection of eclectic mugs litters the top of my bookshelf; my personal favorite showcases Picasso’s “Portrait of a Woman with a Hat.” My roommate — who doesn’t share my early morning class times — has described my coffee maker as sounding like a rocket ship taking off. It’s music to my ears.
Everyone has their own sacred ritual, whether it’s dining hall swill or fancy Keurig pods. Coffee is what we wake up thinking about; it sets the tone for the day. In haste, you anticipate the life force entering your bloodstream — that essential push to keep you alert through all three classes before lunch. On the weekends, you delight in the luxury of indulging in bed, scrolling through the “New Yorker.” Coffee offers a shroud of mystery that is effortlessly cool; everyone fantasizes about being the mysterious person reading a book in the corner of a coffee shop. The joke goes that coffee transforms a person; “I am not me without my coffee!” the millennials gab. But with my first cup I relax as my hands begin to shake; I am whole.
College students are notoriously reliant on caffeine and I am not here to glamorize the addiction. I am just speaking to the reality: drink or die. The craze even transcends the notorious humanities versus STEM divide. I am always willing to extend a cup to the slower science-oriented minds. They need help. Fellow caffeinator and the unfortunately science-afflicted Zoe Gould ’25 says, “I am not dependent on caffeine; it is only necessary for me to feel motivated and perform my basic daily functions.”
Smith is a rigorous institution that expects a lot of its students. My professors are incredibly supportive, and yet, I still need caffeine not just to get the work done but to engage with the material in a meaningful way. Coffee frees us from our circadian rhythm; it allows us to conquer exhaustion. How else will I get through my morning French class followed by an hour-long conversation on the similarly enthused caffeine addict, Honoré de Balzac? (An inspiration to us all, Balzac drank himself to death with his daily fifty cups of coffee atop a pile of work we still read today). The price of greatness is an extra shot of espresso.
Coffee is a means to an end: college, and then your lifetime 9-5. Why not embrace such simple joy? Lean into the satisfaction that comes from writing that last sentence of the paper due at midnight. Revel in a cup shared by your equally frazzled friends. We must face the crisis of burnout head-on; the question is not whether you need a stimulant — it’s which one. As individuals, our value is based on what we can produce and how much. It is our responsibility to perform at peak capacity so we can uphold the system that supports us. We live in a world where you need the edge, put down your hammer and sickle, and pick up a cup.
