Getting Up Early Won't Kill You

I am not a morning person, but for some reason - possibly the pile of bills on my kitchen counter - I scheduled myself to work everyday of the week at 9 am. Now, that doesn't sound extremely early, but think about all the preparation necessary to get to work by then.

I have to set my alarm for 6 am. It beeps every 9 minutes until 6:54 when I finally get up. I know that I get up every morning at 6:54 because I know that if I don't, my alarm clock will also go into sleep mode or snooze. Basically, my alarm clock turns itself off because I've tuckered it out by making it ring every 9 minutes for an hour. So by the time I finally roll out of bed, I'm extremely annoyed by the beeping machine on my nightstand for its energetic attempt to wake me up and its defeat after just one hour.

I stumble around my room looking for clothes to wear that day. Usually, my boyfriend leaves me a note telling me what the weather is like so I can dress appropriately. He knows I have no patience in the morning to wait for RNews to tell me the weather on the 9's. (For those of you who don't watch this channel, RNews always shows the weather at the end of every 10 minutes: 7:39, 7:49, 7:59, etc.)

So, I'm ready to shower. The time is now 7:20.

I get out of the shower, get dressed, and brush my hair. Finally, I have time to sit down and eat breakfast while reading a book. This lasts for less than 2 minutes because my kitten comes zipping into the living room - under one couch, up onto the coffee table and landing in my cereal bowl. He doesn't try to be a menace; he's just really good at it. After cleaning up the mess of milk and Cheerios, I have to finish getting ready: brush teeth, do makeup, clean litter box, feed and water kitten, find cell phone, pack school bag, put on shoes, put on coat, put on gloves, pet kitten, open door and leave.

Finally, I'm out the door and not a second too late; it's 8:20. (In the Fall, Spring and Summer, I can leave at 8:30, but in the winter I have to leave earlier to scrape the ice and snow off my Camry.) I only live 5 minutes from campus, but any commuter knows that finding a parking spot is near impossible if you don't get there very early. Either I can leave at 8:30 am everyday and easily find a spot, or I can leave at 10 of 9 and circle the lots, stalking people until I can steal their parking spaces.

By the time I get to work at 9 am, I've already been awake for 2 hours. I am not a morning person. But, I'm learning to be. This morning, unlike every other morning since the beginning of the semester, I turned my alarm clock off and got out of bed at - drum roll please - 6:30! I had time to read and eat breakfast before my kitten woke up. I had time to watch RNews. I had time to relax before going to work.

For those readers who are just as reluctant as me to get up early, I suggest you make the effort like I did. Someday, you will want/need to enter the real world. Be prepared to to do so at 8am, not noon. Get used to waking up early. Take 8am classes, schedule an internship or job as early as possible, or exercise before class. Whatever way you choose to do it, practice makes perfect!