Who would want to wake up THIS early? That’s all I’ve been asking myself for my first 2 weeks of uni.

Everyday, up at 5am. My alarm shrills and as much as I want to stay in bed, I need to get up.

The sleep in my eyes is sharp every morning and scrapes against my eyelids when I wipe it away.

The house is silent and the floors are cold because the dog stole my slippers. It’s worse now that it’s getting closer to winter because the sky stays so dark and dreary as if the morning still hasn’t begun.

I shuffle in the kitchen half asleep literally CLUTCHING my cat mug while the kettle boils.

I read somewhere online that peppermint tea helps you wake up so I’ve been drinking it everyday before Uni.

My mum leaves me little foil wrapped bagels on the counter for me to take on a morning and even though I’ve never been much of a breakfast person, her baking makes the house feel a little less empty.

I choose my clothes out every morning to save me time, because for some reason I’m always leaving in a rush to catch my bus.

The air outside hits me like a wall of ice, biting at my ears and lips. My purple scarf can only keep me so warm. 

But sometimes when I slow down enough to look, my street looks different at this hour.

The streetlights glow like little suns on the frosted pavement and my breath stains the air like old smoke signals. Even the birds look half asleep and their songs stay soft as if to not wake anyone else up yet.

Cars on the road become less of an uncommon sight and their hums introduce the sunrise.

On some mornings, the sky starts to shift just as I reach the top of the hill to my bus stop.

Navy blues fading into pinks and golds. The clouds settle in their assigned seats in the sky and at that moment, the cold doesn’t bite so hard. It’s like I’m part of this secret club of early risers who get to see this magic before anyone else.

The dog walker strolls past me with the same six dogs I see every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. One day I’ll work up the courage to ask for their names.

Whilst I wait for the bus under the weak shelter, the spiders in their web look like they’re waving at me and I think to myself, maybe I don’t mind waking up this early.

There’s a new peace in being the first one up and the first one to tie their shoelaces and step outside. The world is heavy at 5am, but it’s also so soft. So yeah, who would want to wake up THIS early? Me apparently.

Imogen Bagnall

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