Sunrise is a beautiful time of day.  Especially when I haven’t slept all night.

Yup, that’s right – I find the start of a day most pleasing when it’s actually the end of one for me.  Why?  It’s hard to say.  Probably because my energy levels are even-keeled and at a comfortable level.  I’m not trying to drag myself up at a time when my body and mind are rebelling against me.  Instead, they’ve been relaxed all night as I work away online.  While I may be starting to wear down, they’re not overly stressed, so it’s actually a positive experience for me.

On the other hand, trying to get up at the crack of dawn is never an easy or pleasant thing (unless I’m in China, interestingly).  I’ve struggled with this all my life, as school and then work demanded that I be up at a certain time.  In fact, in college I quickly learned that 8 AM classes were too torturous for me, so I started to schedule nothing earlier than 9.  Even then it was a constant struggle to get up when I needed to.  Once I got into the work culture, it got a bit easier since I was getting some more sleep each night, but I definitely wasn’t happy to be waking up in the morning.

Now that I don’t necessarily have to get up or sleep at any particular time, I’ve discovered the joy of watching the beginning of a day.  I had gotten a sense of this in college when I pulled some all-nighters, but usually I was so delusional by the time the sun rose that I didn’t really get to appreciate it.  It’s really pretty cool!  I love the freshness that a sunrise brings with it, as the world comes back to life and the energy around me builds up.  I don’t know why I’m such a night owl, but it’s what feels good and natural to me.  I’ve tried to fix it and be more “normal” but it just doesn’t work very well, so why fight it?  I’m much happier and more productive this way.