I truly do not understand how I switched from being a night owl as a result of last semester at Harvard to a dedicated morning person. True, it's only the second week of the semester but no matter how hard I try to sleep late and wake up late, I fail.
So what are the advantages of waking up that early? (between 4am and 7am). Well, for one thing, I get to eat breakfast in the dining hall in peace. I do not like eating in crowded areas, and when the athletes come over to Kirkland house to eat lunch or dinner I feel nauseated. Not because I hate athletes, but because I'm against crowdedness; I believe food must be eaten in peace and be coupled with a heart-warming conversation, not eaten in a hurry or spending 15 minutes trying to find a place to set down my tray and eat without being cramped or stuffed in a corner. So yes, I like eating breakfast alone or with 2/3 people that wake up as early as I do and appreciate nice quite breakfasts. Something else that ties in with that is that earlier in the morning I am able to make myself a fresh hot waffle without a few other residents waiting in line and looking at me disapprovingly, like I was not allowed to eat waffle. "Hurry up homez, I ain't got all day", is what I picture them saying if they had the nerve. Another advantage of waking up early is that I can go outside Kirkland House and enjoy my steaming triple-shot Nescafe Gold and follow it with a quiet, pretentious reflective smoke. Now if I wake up later in the morning and try and do that, Scott the House manager would give me a couple of death stares and ask me politely to move to the smoking bench farther away from the House. I like the bench, but I like to have the choice of choosing between the smoking bench and the stone benches right outside the gate. One other advantage is that I actually get the quiet beautiful time to sit down and work on my short story collection or to write a blog post (I'm writing this at 6:30am). It's harder so sit down and write shit down when everyone around you is eating in a hurry to catch class or recovering from a hangover, drivers getting impatient with traffic so they start sounding their horns aimlessly, it just doesn't work. Perhaps another advantage to waking up early is academic (I know, I know no one likes to talk about academics but I gotta give credit where it's due). On weekdays, I actually get to finish most of my school work before I even get to class; this way I'm ready for class and have succeeded in jump-starting my brain to a day full of formulas, science and language learning. So yes, overall, I like waking up early.
quick recap to list the reasons why I think a college student should wake up early:
1. you get to jump-start your metabolism with a big, healthy breakfast without mixing it with lunch.
2. you get to enjoy some quiet time to look at your schedule for the day and prepare for it.
3. you get to drink a lot of coffee slowly without burning your tongue.
4. you get to actually do a lot of your school work and go to class prepared with a mind that's already in motion.
5. if you're a writer like me (whether a blogger, fiction writer, journalist or a poet) you'll discover after a couple of days of waking up early that your mind is clearer and can focus more on writing.
6. if you're an international student with home being at least an ocean away, you get to call home at a decent time for both of you and the fam.
7. you get to read the news before anyone else.
8. if the rest of your day is cramped with academics and extracurriculars that leave you mentally and physically exhausted, you can actually hit the gym or go running in the early morning for an extra metabolism-boost.
9. if you're a religious person, you can have some quiet time for your religious or spiritual activities before the day gets too hectic.
That's about what I learned till now, as time goes on I will probably learn more about the advantages and disadvantages (if any) to waking up early. And hey, college is an experience right? So mix and mash up your routines and schedules and see what works best for you. This article is extremely biased, but at lease it gives you a viewpoint that's worth considering.
(and yes, that is Adam Young/Owl City being a neurotic idiot)
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