The first day of a new semester always holds so much promise. If I’m going to be honest with myself, I was excited to have a fresh start. First semester was certainly a learning experience, and now, as a second semester freshman, I was sure that I knew everything there was to know about college.
For me, this semester kicked off at about 7:50 a.m. on a chilly Tuesday morning. A little note about me: both “Tuesday” and “morning” are words that, simply at their mention, are rash-inducing. When making my schedule a few months ago, I nearly blasted a Simple Plan album and cried when I saw that I had to have classes before 11 a.m. But I’m a strong woman, so on the first day of the new semester I climbed out of bed, ironically laughing at my own exhaustion, got dressed and told myself I could power through.
Now, I am about to share with you a horrifyingly embarrassing list of real events that prove that I am to mornings as Taylor Swift is to men—I try, but it does not typically go my way. It started with my trip to the dining hall in my building to grab some cereal, and on my way back up, I kid you not, I had an arm spasm. My cereal and my dignity flew through the air, and spewed all over the floor. This left my bowl with only about half of the cereal that I paid for. I got back to my dorm room, trying to shake off what I considered to be an unfortunate accident. I poured milk into what was left of my cereal and ate as my roommate and I discussed our schedules for the day. It was about 8:30 a.m. when I got up to put my cereal bowl away, and in the midst of this process I tripped over my own computer charger, fell face-first into my door, slammed it closed and spilled milk all over our shelves. Reminder: I’m still not kidding. OK, I thought. Literally nothing else can go wrong. Oh Marisa, you fool.
Look, for my sake, I’ll skip through the next few events fairly quickly because this is getting pathetic. On my two-minute walk to class, I slipped on ice and spilled coffee on my shirt. When I got in the building, I walked past my assigned classroom while making eye-contact with everyone inside, only to have to do some kind of twisted walk of shame back when I realized that I had walked too far. I sat down and realized I had no writing utensils, and then I spilled the rest of my coffee on the floor. What an icebreaker!
I wish so much that I could tell you that I was kidding, or I got to meet Ashton Kutcher because I had been “Punk’d.” Unfortunately, this is all too real. Not exactly the way I had anticipated my aforementioned fresh start to go.
So in case there was any confusion, I am not a morning person. My earliest class last semester was at 9:55 a.m. and truly was a battle. After my first day with an 8:50 a.m. start time, I was certain I would never last a week with this new schedule.
Here’s the kicker: after my morning from hell, I still had the entire day to turn things around. I had not slept until 11 a.m. only to realize that the day was nearly halfway over. Because of my early classes, my productivity has increased from doing nearly nothing but sleeping all morning, to now doing homework or even being a #activebadger and exercising. I get done with my classes earlier, so I am able to go to office hours or complete my work during the day when all of my floormates come home. Earlier morning classes give you more time in your day to negotiate your busy schedule.
While I will never feel like my soul is intact when I descend from my bed before 8 a.m. every morning, I have found that it is worth the productivity. So take that leap of faith and try out an earlier class, and know your morning could never go worse than mine.
Marisa is a freshman and is undecided in her major. Do you agree with her perspective? Do morning classes, while initially difficult to get used to, help your daily efficiency in the long run? Tell us what you think. Please send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
