It is 7:45am, Monday morning, and I am so glad I made it onto the train. Considering I left my house 7:37, I’m in good shape. I take out my siddur and start davening, and I begin to wonder if people will notice me. There are so many unspoken rules on the Long Island Rail Road. Don’t talk too loudly. Only two people can sit in the three-seater seats. Your ticket must be out sixty seconds before the conductor comes by. Don’t smile. While most people walk around like zombies that just woke up from a one hundred year nap, with the occasional cup of coffee in hand, I am as refreshed as ever. I just spent a nice three-and-a-half-day, four-night weekend at my house. I don’t know about everyone, but I find that living in the dorms can be unfortunate.
Why? I go to sleep at eleven p.m. Is that so crazy? Isn’t the nighttime meant for sleep? Owls, not humans are known to be nocturnal, but after living in a dorm for a few months I’m starting to doubt that. It could easily be one-thirty in the morning, and my friends are screaming Mazel Tov to the latest girl who got engaged, which will awaken me from my deep slumber. I am excited for her, really, but can’t I sing and dance with her tomorrow, when my brain isn’t craving the REM cycles that I so need?
Several people have asked me how I get my work done, which makes me feel like superwoman. I just ask them back, how do you function with barely six hours of sleep? I do my work during the daylight hours. I do understand that many people have class all day long, and that they need to finish their assignments well into the wee hours of the morning. However, as my friend once told me, “You have time for what you make time for.” I finally understand what this means. Sleep is a priority for me, so I make time for it.
Many of the readers might think my extended weekends are “typical New Yorker” style: she leaves Thursday afternoon and returns Monday morning. However, the weekend can be the most productive time of the week for me. It is a time when I am away from the hubbub of dorm life and in a place where I can truly focus on my work. Yes, this does minimize my social life to a slight degree, but strangely enough, I am fine with that. Throughout the week, there are so many girls who hermit away for hours at a time, and they use their weekends for socializing. I do my socializing during the week.
Etymologically, the word “dormitory” is similar to the Spanish word “dormir,” which comes from the Latin word, dormire. You guessed it; the meaning of these words is sleep. However, I think calling them “dorms” is a misnomer, for little sleeping actually goes on.
Call me weird, or call me normal, but I can’t function without sleep. Sleep is supposed to rejuvenate your body for the new day. Biologically, our young adult bodies are supposed to get at least eight hours of sleep. Today, people are thrilled if they get eight hours at most. I hope for the sake of myself and for the other early-to-bed-goers out there that people will realize they need their sleep. It’s important.