Going Round and Round, then Night by Darci

Going Round and Round, then Night by Darci - January 2019 Scholarship Essay

“You must get your sleep or you won’t be productive tomorrow.” “You need to go to sleep so you can get your beauty rest.” “Children and adults need their beauty sleep so they can get all their work done the next day.” Have you heard any of these sayings? Most people have heard their parents or other adults use these sentences or something similar for many years. What a lot of adults don’t understand is that those who are staying up at night are more productive during these times they are awake than if they are forced to change their habits. Most people fit into the category of being daytime people. However, there are a few of us who are better equipped to function at night.

For years, my family constantly told me the above statements. Yet the times in which the most work got done(unless forced to do it during the day) were those hours late at night when the upper part of my body would be running around in circles thinking about the day. Thinking about the schoolwork which was currently being worked on. Thinking on the housework just sitting there and some of the detail work that needed to be done. Many times, in the dead of night, there would be quiet rustling as papers were worked on. Sometimes, the parents would wake up to a clean kitchen. Sometimes, the teachers would receive a paper that was very well thought through and executed with precision that surprised them.

However, most of the time, the student(me) was told that they would be more productive of a morning if they would just get up. The only time that was ever true was when this student was working with horses. She would have done anything to be around them including getting up at 2:00AM just to be able to be around them. Since that youth has long since fled, the adult now uses the nighttime hours to study or get work done that is not accomplished during the day. Especially when that day includes substitute teaching then coming home. Fixing supper while attending to the needs of a husband who has a debilitating disease, not of his own creation. After this, attending to the nutritional needs of a younger boy on the verge of being a teenager, yet, with brand new allergies and trying to find something that this child can eat without sending them back to the hospital. Many nights have been spent researching nutrition and alternative foods for those with food sensitivities and allergies.

The only productive time is that time after everyone goes to bed and before the husband wakes at 2:00AM to go to work. There is a four hour period when many things get cleaned and organized while thinking over the next project that needs to get done. Whether it be research for a new food sensitivity, or looking up information that might help students at the schools where I work. Then of course there is the never ending mountain of clothes that is a constant reminder of how many people live in this little bitty trailer we call home. Most of this gets done at night when all is quiet and the mind can focus on what needs to be done next. Focus. That is the key. Learning how to train the mind to focus in on the task at hand.

The brain in this body is not capable of focusing in as easily during the day because there are so many distractions which pull it in so many various directions, it is hard to say which is the way one should go. The stimulation the brain receives can be so confusing when there are so many things are going on at once. When all is quiet, the brain can slow down, the cloud lifts and the person can then realize what needs to be done first, then second, and so on.

Those reading this have now been able to see a small glimpse into the mind of one who is constantly racing, constantly moving. Sleep is hard, but is very welcome when it does come. It is easier for me to be productive at night when others are sleeping and no one is asking a lot of questions, screaming, hollering, or just talking. The mind doesn’t have to focus on every person speaking. It can focus in on one item on a list. Go through and make sure to get it done. Not just get it done, but to get it done right. After this, the next item on the list can be targeted and done. This is the most productive time for me, and many others like me gets done. In the dead of the night, one project at a time. One essay at a time till the next night and another essay or work page must be done and all is once again peaceful and quiet. The mind and body finally relax and sleep overtakes the individual.