4 AM and I’m Just Getting Started by kaitlin

4 AM and I’m Just Getting Started by kaitlin - January 2019 Scholarship Essay

As The Dreadnoughts once said, “Sleep is for the weak.” I wish I had agreed with that statement when I woke up at 3 AM in far-away Houston to be the first in line at the Robotics World Championship. I was a scouter on my team, so I had to get the best seats to analyze the best opponents, but when I woke up I could barely even think and drowned my sorrows into my coffee.

I most definitely am a night person. There’s no getting around it - back in California, I always work at robotics until 9 PM, and stay up a couple more hours to finish off homework. I know it’s always important to get eight hours of sleep, but if I have a huge assignment, I can always tap into the hours past midnight every once in a while. That freedom to stay up into the witching hours, though not often used, alleviates the stress from big assignments. There is no such reassurance in the morning. At night, I can soak in all of my experiences of the day and utilize those to work efficiently; in the morning, I am dazed and groggy.
At home, the night is always the quietest after my brother and mom fall asleep and I can finally work in tranquility. (My brother is six years old, and so full of energy it’s like he can’t stop yelling.) I perform the best at night, unhindered by the events of the day and peacefully alone in my room, with the freedom to stay up as long as I want until I’m satisfied with my work.