Most days I have to set two alarms just to ensure that I will roll out of bed 40 minutes afterwards. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. At least I hope I’m not, because that would make me weird, and then I would feel weird. Getting out of bed is the biggest chore of the day, not because I don’t want to get out of bed, but because my bed is so comfortable, and maybe just 20 more minutes of sleep won’t set me back too much in my schedule. It always does. Sometimes I sleep through my first class, sometimes I just lie in bed and pretend to sleep through my first class. Either way, the result is the same.
To put everything into context, I have trouble concentrating during the day. I can’t pay attention. I can’t sit still. I find that I do my best work during that brief window of time between 12:30 and 2:30 a.m. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I can only get work done during that period, which is actually quite a problem. It’s gotten to the point that I pretty much sit around and do nothing after getting back from my classes until 11 p.m. rolls around, because I only feel motivated to do anything important when my greatest desire is just to sleep.
This leads to a vicious cycle. I stay up late to get my work done (when I could have finished it just as easily earlier in the day), and as a result I’m much too tired to even care about getting up on time the next morning. It just keeps happening.
Will I do anything to correct this behavior? Not really. Maybe I’ll set three alarms instead of two, or maybe I’ll actually get out of bed in the morning versus just lying there and pretending to be asleep as the clocks pass 8:30. But, really, I’m not going to change anything, not because I like being tired all the time, but because I don’t particularly want to. And it’s not like I’m not motivated to do these things, either. I am motivated, and I have every intention of finishing my assignments on time. It’s just that my motivation only really kicks in after midnight, once I’m ready to stop for the day. That’s the moment when I think “I have to do this,” and I’m actually able to power through everything that I need to get done.
But really, even without this stupid habit, waking up for an 8:30 class would still be a hassle anyway. 8:30 classes are horrible. 8:30 classes should be made illegal. Waking up early should be illegal. Like, no, really, the only good thing about waking up for an 8:30 class is eating breakfast, but even that small amount of joy is limited by how many minutes I have until the class actually starts. I’m tired.
Lauren Schroeter is junior majoring in geology and religion.
