Goal #64 COMPLETE: Africans and Acne

More progress on my Project 101 in 1001 list. Read about my journey here.

Goal #64 COMPLETE: Give up buying coffee for four weeks and give the money I save to Mocha Club. 

© Devin Hanson Photography 2008

I love coffee. You might even say I depend on it both physically, mentally and socially. While I have more recently cut back on my purchasing of hoity-toity-Starbucks-and-the-like-lattes, a daily intake of coffee (whether purchased from a shop or made at home) was a must in my morning routine. 

So when I wrote this goal, I was very careful to word it "give up buying coffee." In other words, my plan was to avoid the extra-curricular purchasing of coffee at, say Starbucks, but I could still drink coffee that I already had at home. Cunning such as this was necessary because, honestly - what coffee drinker wants to give up their source of conciseness for one whole month??

Well - my health, vanity and love for Africans (a twisted combination of factors, I know) lead me to not only give up buying coffee, but to (at least temporarily) give up drinking coffee all together.

I'll give you coffee drinkers a moment to collect yourselves. 

(pause)

Everyone okay? Alright then, let's move on. Here are the reasons behind this craziness:

Health: As much as I love coffee, I know that my daily dependence on the stuff isn't great for my body. Add to that the fact that I do not have a very healthy diet and I knew I needed to cut back. (Tip: If you cut back on coffee, drinking a large glass of water really helps keep away the caffeine headaches.)

Vanity: I have horrible adult acne. Which I'm rather self-conscience about. Frustrated with the cost of so many tried-and-failed chemical remedies and dermatologist co-pays, I decided to turn to natural remedies just to see what happened. I began using the oil cleansing method a few months ago and have seen some great improvements in my skin. While I really like this method and would highly recommend it, some of my acne still persisted. So, I thought "What the hey - I've heard coffee/caffeine can cause acne in some people so why not test the theory?" Not drinking offee really does seem to be working, but after years of dealing with adult acne, I'm hesitant to make a final declaration just yet. 

Love for Africans: The original point of this goal still remains. By giving up the purchasing of coffee for a month, I was able to save somewhere around $14.00. Through Mocha Club that $14.00 will provide fourteen Africans with clean water for one year! That is just incredible. The reality that so many people in this world are dying because they don't have clean water to drink is unbelievable when you look at the numbers: $1 = 1 year of clean water for 1 person. WOW. That is next-to-nothing (monetarily) but is HUGE in the sense that you can literally save someone's life for a year with one dollar. 

What about you? Could anything compel you to stop drinking coffee?

P.S. I don't drink soda either (I've never liked it), so I'm all caffeine-free right now. Four weeks and I'm still alive, so it is possible.