By Katherine Lee, Staff Reporter
6:20 a.m. – Alarm rings. Press snooze.
There is no other time in the entire 24 hours of a day that brings me as much pain as 6:20 a.m. does. Some view mornings as a beautiful start to a new day, and I feel the same. However, in my personal dictionary, mornings do not begin until the clock has ticked past 9:30 a.m. When the sky is still a shade of deep blue and the sun has yet to rise on the horizon, it is most certainly still nighttime. In other words, sleeping time.
6:30 a.m. – Alarm rings again. Open eyes and contemplate one’s purpose in life.
Nothing is quite as dreadful as when the alarm explodes a second time, reminding me that the snooze button is not an option if I do not want to be late for school. For five minutes thereafter, I lay in bed wondering if it would really be that awful to fall back into dreamland and forget about school. The temptation is great, but the sound of my mother yelling at me to get up is enough to scare me out from my covers.
6:40 a.m. – Get ready for school.
With great remorse, I get ready for the day, sluggishness pulling at my feet like a heavy weight tied to my ankle. It hardly helps that my bed remains in my peripheral vision, reminding me once more that it may not be all that awful to return to sleep.
6:50 a.m. – Eat breakfast.
My mother knows better than to prepare a full and hearty breakfast for me. As much as I love the thought of pancakes and buttered toast, such plates have no place in my tired stomach. Instead, a small plate of fruits and vegetables with a cup of water awaits me, and I force down a few apple slices. 6:50 a.m. is much too early for an appetite.
6:55 a.m. – Leave for school.
It is with a graceful mind that I reflect on my parent’s incredible patience in driving my sister and me to school. Without their generosity, my mornings would be ten times as torturous as it already is. The rest of the day passes by, fighting back fatigue and napping whenever the opportunity arises, until before I know it, nighttime has arrived.
12:00 a.m. – Go to bed.
Each night I plan to sleep earlier and earlier to get the recommended eight hours of sleep, but procrastination is my faithful best friend. Finally, finally, the long awaited moment arrives and I joyfully wrap myself in blankets and hug my pillow good night. Not for the first time, I dream of a future where school would start even 30 minutes later, making it possible for me to enjoy a few more precious minutes of sleep.
Katherine Lee can be reached at [email protected].
