Maybe it’s because I was born in the city that never sleeps. Or maybe it’s because I stayed up one too many times as a teenager, but I am a night owl. I can’t understand people who waste their time sleeping during the night. I would much rather sleep during the day. Night is the perfect time to do everything and anything. Maybe I’ve been hypnotized by the moon, but I do believe that I’m in an almost trance like state at night. I focus better and I can get more work done. But most importantly, night time is a good time for me to just take time for myself.

Ironically, I wasn’t always a night owl. My mom always had me in bed by 8 p.m. and I would sleep the night away not realizing I was wasting the best part of 24 hours. I was also severely afraid of the dark which was synonymous with nighttime for any 6-year-old. The only thing that could defeat the dark was light which meant daytime for me. My body could never stay up late regardless, not even when I tried, so I wasted many years sleeping away. If only I had known that my favorite time would be nighttime. The first time I stayed up past midnight I was maybe in the seventh grade. I made a pack of sugar cookies and ate them all by myself which gave me a sugar high. I was bouncing off the walls and there was no way I could sleep with all the energy bursting out of me. As the high faded, I realized it was already 3:30 a.m. I realized it was quiet and it was just me awake. I realized that I could hear everything in my house and in the house next door... And I loved every second of it.

Now as a rising college senior, I can’t start any work before 5 p.m. and I usually end up rewriting anything I write before midnight in the early hours of the morning. I remember I once read the important chapters and skimmed the rest of an entire book in just two hours. During the day, this would have taken much longer, but I have superhuman focus skills at night. I feel like I can do the impossible. I feel a special connectedness with myself at night and I feel like that has helped me remain calm and composed during the day. Sure, people will find downsides to staying up all night, like waking up late and being abnormally tired, but I find that those things are completely worth it in the end. Nothing can compare to finding a time that allows you to be a better you.

Being a night owl isn’t for everyone but you’ll never know unless you try. The next time you think about heading to bed, try staying up for a few more hours and see what happens. Maybe you’ll surprise yourself and become a night owl, too.