If you read my latest article or if you know me personally then you probably know that I’m not a morning person. I am definitely a night owl preferring to sleep in and stay up at night. My ideal school day is to start a class around 9 to 10 a.m. so I don’t have to rush and be up before the sun. Since beginning Cal Lutheran, I have done my very best to avoid the earlier classes at 7:45 a.m. or 8 a.m. and had succeeded well until this semester.
The way my schedule planned out this year means I have to take a 7:45 a.m. class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I wasn’t the happiest about this, as you can imagine. I had three options: take this class, have four classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday or drop four credits this semester. Dropping four credits wasn’t really an option. So I decided to take the early class. How bad can it be? After agreeing and signing up, it then dawned on me that taking this class means in the middle of the winter I will be waking up and walking to class around the same time that the sun will be rising.
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Fast forward a few weeks later and I’m slowly getting used to the fact that I’m back on my high school schedule and have to be awake and functioning early twice a week before any of my roommates. I’m slowly getting to like the morning and what it brings with it. My favourite part is when I walk out of my dorm with all the other students that have the early class. Slowly we acknowledge each other and our sleepy states as we start our walk together towards the main part of campus. Some people are chatty and with friends, others have their hoods up and heads down focusing on staying awake. It’s relatively quiet as a few cars drive around finding their spots to park in. You know it’s early when the parallel parking outside Ullman’s is pretty much empty. The sun is hazy through the morning mist, casting a soft golden glow over the park and the regular dog walkers are enjoying the moment before the busy day starts. It’s a pretty time of day that a lot people like me don’t see very often.
So would I offer to take an early morning class again? Would I recommend it to others or to you reading this? Yes I would. Getting up early is actually quite nice and that is a bit difficult to admit. To know that by 9:30 a.m. I’ve already got ready for the day, completed a class and nearing the end of my breakfast gives a great sense of satisfaction and readiness to be productive for the rest of the day putting me in a good state of mind. It also forces me to go to bed earlier the day before to get more sleep which helps me form a better sleeping pattern in the long run. Also, if you like naps you have a great excuse to take one, just say you had an early class!
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