By PHOODIE
Despite the fact that I’ve always been an “excellent student” (report card’s words, not mine!), I’ve never actually enjoyed studying. I’ve devoted a pretty hefty chunk of my life to it, but it’s never been something I have loved. In high school, especially in my final two years, hours and hours and HOURS were spent in my room reading, writing and typing (oh, and listening to Craig David. Don’t judge, he was big back in the 90’s!) Along with all of this study, came the daily consumption of a tonne of junk food and way, way too many cups of instant coffee. White with one, please.
I remember the month before I was due to sit my final Year 12 exams. I was feeling like crap. It wasn’t because I was anxious, or stressed, I just had more of an overall exhausted, lethargic and unsettled kind of vibe going on, both physically and mentally. Despite feeling so tired, bizarrely, I was struggling to sleep at night. After too many days of annoying complaints, my Mum staged a junk food and coffee intervention. Well, I’m not sure “intervention” is the right word, but she suggested that I start snacking on healthier foods and swap the coffee for some tea, green tea to be specific. I totally agreed on the food front, but green tea!? Despite the fact that the Chinese had been drinking it for many, many centuries, I’d never even heard of it. However, I was feeling so off that I was prepared to give it a go.
I’ve had at least one cup of green tea every day since I was 17. Actually that’s not true, there were 5 weeks in there, when I went on my honeymoon (yes, it was a very long and absolutely amazing honeymoon) where we were in such remote places that I couldn’t get my hands on it. Honeymoon aside though, I’ve had green tea every day for the past 15 years and I will continue to do so indefinitely. In addition to the sense of calm and relaxation I get during and after drinking it, the fact that it is rich in antioxidants is just an added bonus. A pretty big one too.