Sleeping in until noon everyday used to be the stuff of my dreams. As it turns out, the consequences of doing such on a daily basis are much harsher than I'd imagined. What started as a nonchalant habit of turning in at midnight and waking up at 1:00 PM quickly turned into an unbreakable cycle of eyes tearing at the blue light of my phone screen until 4:00 in the morning and waking up well past lunch time. I was groggy during the day, and inexhaustible at night. My circadian rhythm laughed in my face whenever I tried to close my eyes. I couldn't take it anymore, and I knew what had to be done. I set my alarm for 6:00 AM. I would get up so early that my body would be unable to fight the tiredness come evening. As the sky slowly paled, I fought my every instinct to hit snooze and met the sun at my window. I watched it ascend, the only person awake in my home, and started my day. I did yoga, I made dalgona coffee, I read books, I did homework, I baked cookies, I… I… I was curled fast asleep by 9:00 PM.
Alyssa Kattan (Class of 2020)