so tired

I have been so freaking tired today. Usually it takes me a while to wake up in the mornings and I'm still groggy around 9:30am. But today was different and at 2:15pm I went searching for a Diet Coke to help me friggin wake up already.
I am a major caffeine wuss. I always have been; a tall glass of sweet tea will make me feel like I'm on the verge of a panic attack. A whole diet coke makes my hands slightly shaky. But since I've started back at school I have been really dragging in the mornings and I feel like I need something to help me wake up.
I occasionally have a small cup of caffeinated coffee in the morning and when I say "small" I quite literally mean 2 tablespoons of coffee and 3/4 cup of flavored Coffee Mate. Sometimes I have caffeinated tea that I will sip on from Patrick's insulated coffee mug for hours because if I guzzle it in one sitting (like I would decaf tea) I would jump out of my skin.

So does anyone have any tricks for waking up gently in the morning? Ever heard of this? The guy at our natural food store swears by it.