The worst thing about having a job that you absolutely love is being a slave to the hours. I recently started an internship that I am completely thrilled to have and I can see myself working here forever, the only draw back is this starts at 5:30 a.m. each day. Being a young college student, people might think this is no issue for me, but they'd be wrong. Lately, I haven't been as awake and spunky as usual and I credit it to one thing, the lack of quality coffee. There are no Starbucks open before I have to report to work and there are no Starbucks close enough to my job for me to justify running there, even if I mobile order.

Reading this one might think that there are a myriad of other places to get a caffeine fix, but they're wrong. Any decent Starbs addict can tell you that nothing else compares, so going without such a necessity is a ROUGH time. Below are some of my attempted substitutions for my one true love, Starbucks.

1. Wawa.

I'm from New Jersey so let me start by saying Wawa coffee was a big part of my teenage years. High school mornings felt incomplete without a 24 oz dark roast with more than enough sugar and a decent amount of milk, but since coming to college and the closest Wawa being about 4 blocks out of the way, I started converting to Starbucks, also because they accepted my dining plan money. Now, I work in a ridiculously close proximity to a Wawa but the coffee just doesn't do it for me anymore. I can't will myself to drink it because it's just not the same at all. After trying to survive off of what I now see as Wawa's poor excuse for coffee, I moved on to my next prospect.

*Do not get me wrong, Wawa for everything else is still the number 1 move.

2. 7-11

I'll keep this short and to the point, just like my relationship with 7-11 coffee, nope. I should have known better but I still tried it and all I can say is I'm sorry to my taste buds and my body for not supplying the right caffeine.

3. Dunkin'

Another staple of my youth is Dunkin' mocha iced coffee with cream and sugar, but now it tastes like a cavity inducing nightmare. After giving up on Wawa and my lapse in judgement at 7-11, I figured let me try out Dunkin' again-- something I would only resort to in locations where there was no Wawa in sight-- and I was even more disappointed than when I tried Wawa. It tasted like sugar water. I couldn't taste anything that resembled coffee, just a coyingly sweet liquid that had no notes aside from sugar. This was less than ideal.

4. Dunkin' take 2

I decided to give Dunkin' another shot, this time I changed the flavor of the coffee. I got pumpkin. I personally really really really do not consider myself a pumpkin lover but I do enjoy a slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving so I figured I'd give it a try. All I had to lose was about $3 if I absolutely hated it. Well, I lost $3 that day. I hated it. I don't even think I finished it. I've never been more disappointed in myself.

5. Dunkin' again because why not

Me @ Dunkin': guess who's back, back again

This time, I opted for plain iced coffee, cream and sugar and I'll save everyone the suspense, I hated it. I have never tasted more bitter and burnt coffee in my life. This was the last straw with me for Dunkin' coffee. Another $3 down the drain that I could have used on things I actually like, like Taco Bell.

6. The savior, Starbucks grocery store iced coffee

By chance I laid eyes on it one day while looking for orange juice. A beautiful 48 oz jug of lightly sweetened brewed to personalize iced coffee was just in the refridgerated section like it's been waiting for me for years. This gift from above has been the only thing that is even close to a fresh brewed Starbs.

Overall, nothing will replace a fresh Starbucks coffee to start my morning. It's the experience of the Starbucks that really gives that coffee the extra special feeling. The experience of the barista that even though they see you every morning, they still don't bother to remember your name or treat you nicely, the weird music, and the butchered spelling of your name all contribute to the final product of a coffee that fills you with the energy needed for the rest of your day. So if anyone sees me on a weekday for the next six months and I look a little dead inside, just know I'm aware. Also if anyone reading this is a Starbucks exec, can you open the stores at 5 am near me?