No two students have the exact same lives. No matter how similar they may seem, each has an irreplicable combination of different clubs, personalities and lifestyles.
But if there was a common denominator, it’d be an inconsistent and lacking sleep schedule.
Late nights and early mornings. Watching the clock tick hour after hour towards sunrise.
Generally, I’ll start my home-work around 9 p.m., fresh out of the shower after a demoralizing swim set.
Four assignments.
Hopefully only three hours before I can pull the covers over my head. I’m in the zone.
It starts hitting at around 11. Same way every time. Just an offhanded yawn at first.
Then the world splits in two, and my head tilts forward.
I catch myself just before my forehead makes nice with my blank notebook.
Rub my eyes. Slap my face. Stare into an overhead light bulb because maybe it’ll knock the sleep out of my eyes. The 30 physics problems don’t help.
Then I wrestle sleep again. I don’t put up much of a fight — I’m way out of my weight class.
It puts me in a headlock. I’m pinned. Knocked out for the rest of the night.
The 8:30 a.m. starter pack for the average student is an unzipped backpack, half-eaten breakfast taco and most importantly, caffeine.
I’ve seen kids chug two Celsius cans in the middle of their first-period test. It doesn’t seem to work for me, though. Caffeine or not, I can and do pass out anywhere.
I have alarms for every minute of the day. And night.
Trouble sleeping? Never heard of it. As soon as my head hits the pillow, lights out.
Staying awake is another issue.
I’ve probably fallen asleep in every place on campus: Centennial to Nearburg and everywhere in between. The harkness table in English is a personal favorite.
There are countless pictures and videos of me, mouth gaping wide and showing off my Adam’s apple.
I’m not trying to disrespect teachers, but when they see my head descend, they have a hard time believing that I care about their class.
Literary analysis doesn’t happen when you’re asleep, Doan.
Mr. Brown was always nice about it, but most do not tolerate this behavior.
Even tonight, I’ll most likely be glancing at my digital clock, each minute tempting me, whispering to me to shut both the laptop and my eyes.
And like most of my fellow students, I’ll struggle my daily struggle with exhaustion.
Sleeping at a desk more often than a bed isn’t too bad.
I love winning as much as the next guy.
But I’ve long since given up on beating sleep.
