Adderall
I love getting shit done — constantly. Productivity and progress satisfy me. The trouble is, effectiveness and desire often come in spurts; motivation is an elusive partner, sometimes disappearing at the most inopportune times. There is nothing I hate more than setting out to work and being duped by my own fickle intensity.
Last year, I discovered focus in a handy pill form: Adderall. Pink pills are
20 mg., blue pills 10. Twenty mg. is enough to keep me
sharp and awake for about eight to 10 hours. Street price is $4-10 for
20 mg.
When I get focused, it's incredible: I can read quickly, work intensely,
think rapidly. My heart beats fast and my legs tingle. I run steps. I get
ideas and dive into them passionately, productively and powerfully. Eating
and sleeping become unnecessary. My mind is acute, my body charged. It's
perfect.
It's an overachiever's dream. Unlike caffeine pills or copious amounts of
coffee, it never leads to incoherent wakefulness. You're awake and working
until you fall asleep, satisfied and relieved. It makes me feel like
Superman, giving me the power and self-control I always wished I had. Unlike
speed or cocaine, however, you can still function normally. After I study on
Adderall, I retain the knowledge. It optimizes and extends my work time; every
minute is like the best minute of work I've ever experienced.
It's a prescription drug, a controlled substance designed for people with
Attention Deficit Disorder. Years ago, however, students at fancy-boy prep
schools and high-pressure colleges discovered it as a substitute for the
imperfections of caffeine, speed or natural intensity.
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Every drug has some side effects. I find myself a bit over-enthusiastic in
conversation, talking quickly and licking my lips, tapping my feet and
drumming my fingers — incessantly. The real worry is dependence, though. Some kids say that after they've been using Adderall really frequently, they cannot concentrate without it. It is not something to use every day. Few things are. I've heard of kids doing 80 mg. before going out to clubs. Or using it every night. Or even multiple times a day.
I take Adderall about once every 10 days. I've been pulling frequent
all-nighters for the past four years, using Adderall for one. Now, when I stay
up all night, I get work done the whole time. It's fantastic, intense, and
powerful. Just as it helps kids who cannot concentrate to focus like other
students, it allows the average student to work like a superstar.
Granted, most people don't desire to work constantly. For them, there is
already a plethora of drugs: marijuana, alcohol, pain killers, etc. Finally,
however, there is a drug for the workaholic, a drug that sharpens your mind
instead of blurring it, helps you concentrate instead of relax, makes you
effective instead of social. It's not for everyone, but if you want its
results, it's the greatest thing going.
— Peter, a student at Columbia University (mail fielded by jim@flakmag.com)
