Growing up, I denied it ardently. I didn’t want to be different. I didn’t want to be a crazy person. But eventually, I had to admit to myself that it was true. And now that I’m in college, I realize I am the opposite of the stereotypical college student.
I can’t fathom needing a cup of coffee to wake up. I don’t understand people who complain about having 8 a.m. classes. I can’t relate to conversations in which everyone is one-upping everyone else about how many all-nighters they’ve pulled already this semester.
I am a morning person. I’m not just OK with mornings — I love them. My brain functions better. I focus better. I feel better emotionally and spiritually.
I always go out of my way to take the earliest classes I can find. Three of the six semesters of my college career, I chose to have an 8 a.m. every day. The semesters I don’t have an 8 a.m., I schedule work as bright and early as I can.
That is only possibly because I will do almost anything to avoid staying up past 10 p.m. I have never pulled an all-nighter in my life, but when the case does call for it (as it is bound to do with a full class and workload in college), I would much rather wake up at 3 a.m. than stay up until 3 a.m. to finish homework.
But on normal days, I love going to bed at 9 p.m. — partially because my body starts shutting down by that time, but mostly because I’m so excited to be up at 6 a.m. to watch the sun rise over the ocean from my window while laying in my bed in Lovernich.
There’s no better way to start the day than to watch the sun wake the world up. The ocean welcomes the dawn with a different personality every day, the birds sing praise for another day of life and I am the humble witness of a renaissance.
I don’t understand how anyone could ever willingly miss that.
For a long time, I thought morning people were inherently better than night people. If night owls could just make themselves get up earlier, they wouldn’t have to stay up so late, and they would be happier in the mornings. They would all be able to get more things done during the day, and everyone could partake in the reasonable and healthy bedtime of 9 p.m. (10:30 on the weekends).
While I now realize that genes determine whether a person is a morning lark or a night owl, I still can’t help but think we morning people are, if not better, then luckier.
As a morning lark, I get to wake up to a world that is crisp in its youth every day. Everything is just a shade brighter, each detail a bit more vibrant. The freshness of the morning air fills my lungs, and I am ready to take on whatever the day has in store for me.
__________
Follow Falon Opsahl on Twitter: @FalonGraphic
