Sleeping on the job

I’ve done it everywhere — on the floor, on a table, in darkened classrooms, behind the bookshelves of the library, and of course in a bed. That’s right. I have fallen asleep almost every place possible.

I’m not proud of this. It’s hard to admit that I have been sleeping around during school, but I have a good excuse. I have classwork to finish, homework to start, and Food Network to watch. There are not enough hours in a day to accomplish everything I want, so cutting out a few hours of sleep is an easy decision to make. I would rather be a little tired during the day than a lot behind in my work. So I’ve been busy, but chances are you have been, too.

Pick-up-lines
In my mind, this is what I imagine MVHS students saying about their schedules.

Tired Student A: Ugh. I have so much homework to do tonight! Three hours of APUSH, two hours of chemistry, and I need to read 300 pages for lit!
Tired Student B: I know! I have so much stuff to do. AP Physics, Calc BC, AP PE…

Between the sheets
That was exaggerated, but not much.  Students are often over—worked and under-slept at MVHS, but what is strange is how proud we are of these “accomplishments.” To many of us, being tired all the time is a badge of honor—it tells everyone we are pushing ourselves. Apparently, students who go to sleep at a reasonable hour are slackers or lucky, and sometimes both. It is the sleep-deprived student who is normal—half crazy with fatigue, but normal.

As students we are stressed, tired, and stretched thinner than Keira Knightly. So why do we do this every night? It only makes sense that when we see other students succeed in school, we want to do the same. We seek ambition, but somewhere along the way we forget about doing well and focus on just doing. Being constantly productive is now equal with being a better person. It’s not about whether you like your classes, or if you just copy the answers from the textbook. Who cares how much effort you put into last night’s essay, when all we want to know is how many hours of sleep you lost because of it.

In the end, the truth is simple and, for some of us, difficult to swallow. Doing more is not the same as doing better, and sleeping less does not mean you have worked harder.

The morning after
You still have time to save yourself though. The school year has barely begun, and there is time to change. Cutting loose a few obligations can mean having the time to enjoy the ones you keep, just with less eye-baggage along the way. Reconsider if you need to still take Spanish when you hate the class. Think about why you wanted to try out for the basketball team next season. Ask yourself if you really care about those six clubs you joined. Stop comparing your hours of sleep, or lack thereof, with your sleep-deprived peers. Being busy might be a pseudo-badge of honor, but there is definitely no Hall of Shame for admitting that, sometimes, life can move faster than any of us can keep up with.

As for me, I could do with taking my own advice. I really do prefer getting a full nights sleep instead of nursing my Quad Grande Vanilla Latte from Starbucks. Plus, enjoying my last year of high school sounds like a pretty good idea. Unfortunately, I’m a little busy at the moment. I’ll just have to do this later.