The common stereotype of college kids is late night parties, lazy ignorance in class, and an overall disregard for our academics. It isn't true! Yes, I stay up past 2 A.M. on a regular basis, and so do many other college kids, but not for the reasons you might think.
1. Three papers, two quizzes, and a journal reflection.
The number one reason we stay up so late? To finish the ridiculous mountains of homework that we are trying to balance with organizations, classes, jobs, and a social life.
2. Strange sleeping schedules.
You wake up for your 8 A.M. after a summer of laziness, go to classes, slump back to your room exhausted and take a nap so you can focus on your aforementioned homework. Then, after a nice long nap and a productive 5 hours, you can't sleep. So you stay up late, focusing on other things, making waking up for your 8 A.M. difficult and enticing your tendency to nap further. . . It's a vicious cycle, and almost all of us are guilty of it.
3. Procrastination.
. . . speaks for itself. I would write more, but this is due in 10 minutes . . .
4. Sensory overload.
Laptops, televisions, cable, Netflix, gaming systems, Youtube, smartphones . . . the list goes on. We are surrounded by distractions of all shapes and kinds, and these distractions take over our minds and force time to disappear. . . quickly. We often are unaware of just how much time is taken by such "harmless" devices. . . but enemies of the air(waves) beware.
5. Playing "social butterfly".
With so many different obligations, organizations, classes, and the like, schedules become so difficult to sync. So we are left to our own devices, finding that the best time to hang out, watch that movie, or play that game may be the middle of the night. But without that social interaction, we start to go crazy.
6. A little bit of ME time.
Echoing our need to socialize with others, we need to embrace time with ourselves, to recognize who we are, who we want to be, and how to get there. But we shape our sense of self in times like college, and that sense of self will only be found if we take time to look for it. We gotta break free, soar, fly, sometimes solo.
7. College "P.E.".
According to every professor ever, you need to take a break from studying every once in a while, stretch your legs, clear your mind. What is supposed to be a five minute break of stretching turns into a late night food run, an impromptu workout, or a karaoke party. We get distracted or simply find something more enticing than our papers on the ethical implications of wooden desks versus steel desks during World War II.
8. Adventures to last a lifetime.
Ideas snowball in college, a suggestion like "cereal" can quickly become a trip to Walmart at 1:30 A.M. to buy three boxes of Reese's Puffs, two gallons of milk, a jar of Nutella, and a large batch of chocolate donuts (true story). But those ideas snowball into incredible adventures, nights that become nostalgic for our 60 year old selves. Plus, adventures like these are hard to pass up when you're invited.
9. Deep Talks.
College is where so many life-long relationships form, on all levels. Staying up late is a minor consequence of learning about your new best friend, coaching someone through a break-up, fostering a spark with a significant other, or celebrating a major achievement. It is simply worth having to sloth through your classes the next day to feel closer to that person eternally.
10. When in Rome.
College culture is a strange thing. It tends to function in the same manner as those who came before. College is notorious for late nights, so late nights continue. And as members of the college culture as it is known today, we are obligated to participate, so. . . When in Rome.
