i wrote this piece about a few months back describing how some of my mornings looked like as a university student.

Small, honest slices of the last couple of days — nothing more than that.

July 20th

What a morning. Sleeping at two and having to wake up at eight is exhausting.

We had a test at nine, so eight felt like the safe time to wake up. Normally, sleeping at two would mean waking up around eleven — but missing this test wasn't an option. So I set alarm after alarm, each one at max volume. And then, of course, I couldn't fall back asleep.

I started preparing — it was an online test, and I was a bit tense, but I just had to go and get it over with. I logged into the site, but the test wasn't available yet, so I sat on my bed, waiting patiently for it to start.

While I waited, someone in my departmental class group sent over some questions. Everyone had a scheduled time slot for the test, and this person's roommate had already taken his — so the questions he'd been given got passed around. I went through them and took note of the answers while I waited for mine to open. Then nine came.

As I read through my own questions, I realized they were the same ones that had been sent earlier. I was thrilled. I answered everything within the time given, no problem.

I figured this was an easy mark for me — until I saw my score. I passed, but only average, when I’d expected to get everything right. I went to my AI afterward to check my answers, and it turned out some were actually wrong. I was surprised, but there was nothing to be done about it at that point. I just had to move on.

July 21st

Rough start this morning — I woke up at seven for an eight o'clock class. My alarm was ringing the whole time, but I didn't wake up to it, probably because I'd slept late.

I rushed to get ready — bath, brushing my teeth, cooking — and was honestly shocked I finished it all with time to spare. Then came the real issue: slippers. Mine aren't in great shape, so whenever I have class, I usually ask my roommates for a pair. If they say no, I'm stuck wearing mine, always with the fear they'll fall apart on the way there or back.

This morning, none of my roommates were around to ask. Thankfully, my friend was — I begged him for his slippers, even just for a bit. He was reluctant at first, but eventually agreed to lend them to me. Relieved, I rushed to class thinking I was already late.

Thankfully, the lecturer hadn't arrived yet.

Nothing dramatic in either one. Just two mornings, written down as they happened.
I’ve started writing these down mostly for myself — a way of noticing the small, unremarkable parts of a day instead of letting them pass by unrecorded. If a few people enjoy reading them along the way, that’s a nice bonus.