It is with deep apprehension that I use this, my final article of the semester, tostakeaboldclaim:fromnow on, I am a morning person.

Yes, yes—I am as shocked as anyone. After all, for much of this semester, I began my days no earlier than 10:30 in the morning (sometimes not even until 11:00). My classes don’t start until 11:30 most days, so I’m generally content to stay in bed as long as possible, drifting in and out of consciousness, whiling away the many morning hours before my first classes begin. (Yes, it’s as sweet as it sounds.)

Still, I am beginning to think that I should attempt to better allocate my time, particularly as it relates to my writing and art. The morning hours are supposedly extremely productive for artists and writers— #FiveAMWritersClub is a hashtag for a reason!—and at this point in my academic career, I can’t afford to sit around all day and wait for inspiration to strike. I’ve got to seek it out early and often. It also seems to me that anyone who has ever been great at anything is an early riser (see virtually any politician/ artist/public figure). If I am ever to join the ranks of the successful, I need to seriously up my game (and set my alarm for 7:00 instead of 10:00).

So, I have decided to become a morning person. I am considering this as a bit of an experiment—what will happen to me if I utilize the early hours of my day for activities other than sleep? Will my art and writing suddenly begin to flourish? Or will I get into yoga, juice cleanses and appropriative spiritualism? At worst, I could become one of those infuriatingly functional athleisure women, the kind who completes every item on the to-do list before lunch. At best, I might free up a few hours to use for my grad school apps. (Fingers crossed for the latter.)

Wish me luck, and if you see me around over the next few weeks, feel free to bring me a coffee—I have a feeling that I’m going to need it.