Hello. Welcome to the Real World. It is 5 am.

Why is it SOOO hard for me to wake up in the mornings? I have been slacking on my blogging lately because of some recent changes that have pretty much taken over my life and mind. In order to help pay for college, I have taken on a second job. It is not as bad as it sounds. I only work during the day and have almost all of my evenings free. With my second job, however, I end up only having one real day off. Let me start by saying that I love my new job. I am a Paraprofessional at one of the local middle schools. I work with special education students and, I have to admit, they make going to work every day completely worth it. However, it is very hard to remind oneself of how important it is that one do well at one’s new job, and just how worth it the kids make it, when the alarm clock is screeching in one’s ear at five in the morning.

I am not a morning person. Though I would rather work mornings so that my evenings are free, I have never been good at getting up. I am the girl who sets four different alarms the night before, knowing that I will push snooze on every single one.  Still, every day I get up at five (or, let’s be honest, 5:20). I get ready, have my coffee, fix my hair, put on my clothes, get in my car, and drive. I drive to my job. I go to class on my lunch break. I return to work. I put the students on the bus. And then, finally, I come home. I am still not in the habit of going to bed at 8 pm, as I should. I fight myself every night. My body begs me to crawl under the covers while my mind tells me it is not nearly late enough to sleep! But after I do finally rest my head, I sleep, and start all over the next day. My father loves to say, “Welcome to the real world.” I have always hated it. The tone of sarcasm and hauteur with which it is delivered always irritates me to the point of the uncontrolled eye-roll. However, real world or not, I only know one thing—I really want a nap.