This damn alarm clock. 

Getting up for school every morning is starting to drain me. I don’t know why I ever though choosing 8 a.m. classes was a good idea. We have one bathroom and four people that need to shower and get ready. And now I have to get up. If I had a dollar for every time I groan like an old man when I get out of bed, I swear to God I would have, like, a thousand dollars by now. And I have to pee so bad.

Knock knock. 

“Someone’s in here!”

Ugh. I need coffee. I also need breakfast. I want to make a healthy, full-balanced meal every morning, but I just don’t have the time or the means to do that. Guess I’ll just have some coffee and cereal. Oh, finally, the bathroom is free. 

“Wait! Before you go in there can I shower really quick?”

My eyes are exhausted from rolling. I’m just going to get dressed. Good thing I shower the night before, or honestly I don’t know how I’d survive. I just need to pee, and to wash my face, and maybe even put a little mascara on so I don’t look completely dead. I also have to warm up my car. Oh! I never drank my coffee yet. 

Oh thank God! The bathroom is finally free. Okay let me pee, let me wash my face. Let me do my makeup a little bit. . . 

6:30. It’s already 6:30?! I have to start my car. 

Okay let me throw my coat on and I’ll run out quickly and start my car, even though my heat is broken. Now I got to pack snacks for the day, and fill up my water bottle, I won’t be home until maybe 4 or 5 p.m. And where’s my coffee?

Checklist: I have my wallet, my watch, my phone. I have my keys. I have my water and my snacks. I have my headphones. I fed the dog, I washed my face, my hair . . . okay I don’t have time to brush it but I can just shake it out. It’ll be fine. And now its 7 a.m. I should’ve left fifteen minutes ago. 

“Okay, bye everyone have a good day.” I slam the door. I get in my car. I drive off—fast. I pass by the houses I see everyday, the stop signs and the speed bumps that just aggravate me. And don’t even get my started on pedestrians. I just need to go now! And this road has so many twists in it it takes so long to turn and turn and—

Whoa. That is literally the most gorgeous sunrise I have ever seen. I mean, really. We don’t get a view like that often in New Jersey. This is . . . beautiful. The orange and yellow are blending in with the blue and pink of the sky and there are no tall buildings blocking the view and it’s just there. She’s looking at me. 

If I had left a minute earlier than I did, I probably would've missed that view. It wouldn’t be at my back as I turned away and drove to school. It just would have been an ordinary, blue-skied day and I would have been cranky because I was running late. 

Maybe I’ll leave a little earlier to catch her again tomorrow.