It is a universally acknowledged truth that school starts far too early in the morning. The Gateway asked NDP girls what they thought about when they first woke up, and here are some of the answers. If you haven’t thought any of these, you’re lying.

“There is absolutely no way it can possibly be 6:30 already.”

Well, according to the passage of time, it really can be 6:30 already, but it still feels like you’ve only been asleep for five minutes.

“I really need to change that alarm tone.”

I’m sure no one in your house hates the loud fire engine noise emanating from your alarm more than you, but I can tell you from personal experience that your family doesn’t exactly appreciate it. Do everyone a favor; change that alarm.

“Aw yeah, I’ve got swim today.”

I have yet to meet an NDP girl that is excited for the prospect of swim class, but I guess there are a few of you anomalies out there.

“I forgot about that test first period.”

If you’ve never had this thought first thing in the morning, I congratulate you on being a NDP girl that cannot exist in life as we know it.

“Coffee? Laptop? Lunch? Parking Tag?”

Many of us lack the ability to think in coherent sentences in the morning, so running through a checklist of things we need will often suffice.

“Why?”

Ah, the ever burning question. One word that encapsulates everything we want to express in those dark hours between 6 and 8 AM.

“Do I really need an education?”

Adults are usually the ones to answer this highly rhetorical question, and the answer is most always an emphatic yes. (Seriously, go to an area with a high population of adults, and shout this. Your ears will be overwhelmed with their affirmative reactions.)

“Is it too late to be homeschooled?”

Usually following the education question, this proposes an alternative manner of learning, if we, in fact, must go to school. To all of us who were never homeschooled, it seems like a fantastic option: sleeping late, getting out of school early, no uniforms, free room and board, etc. Then we remember we would go insane if our moms tried to teach us AP Calculus.

“God, give me the strength.”

It’s best to leave the purpose of the strength ambiguous. Strength to ace the English quiz? Strength to remember your schedule? Strength to stay awake? Might as well pray for it all.

“Maybe it’s Saturday! . . . Nope.”

This is possibly the worst thing to think on the morning of a school day. There is nothing quite so agonizing as having false hope that it’s the weekend, only to have the realization that it’s only Tuesday come crashing down on you.

Hopefully, this has made you realize that you aren’t the only one pondering the passage of time and life’s most confusing questions in the cold, dark, awful mornings that are sure to come. Happy fall!