I think it's safe to say that I've always leaned towards being a night owl. This comes from a young age; I was always wanting to stay up late. In fact, I do remember a few summer nights when I was 9, 10, 11 years old, where I made it my mission to stay up late enough to catch MTV After Dark or VH1's Insomniac Music Theater (may they both, especially the latter, rest in peace). In those cases, I was really only catching the sunrise if I hadn't slept. Getting up for school was about as early as I wanted to manage... because in reality, I was much more a fan of staying up late and sleeping in late.
Growing up, for me, has meant that while I still enjoy staying up late... I can see the value in early mornings, waking up even before sunrise, in that part of the morning where it's still, for all practical purposes, nighttime. Yeah, it means I have to go to bed earlier, but there's something to be said for getting to see those first waves of twilight growing brighter from the horizon. It's mid-afternoon from where I sit, but I am thinking about the sunrise and how I've been lucky to see some lovely ones... the sky turning from dark to light, awash in a cotton candy gradation. Watching the sun come up over Lake Michigan, ready to run on race morning, or when I'm outside in the early morning for work, or on a long road trip: salvation from a dreary dark night. That early morning atmosphere, the world waking up, the sky an ever-changing canvas of color.
And then that glowing orb rises higher above the landscape, a clean slate, a fresh start. To get that every day is one hell of a gift. I'll always love staying up late, but trust me when I say that I definitely appreciate those early mornings, too... those electric sunrises stirring my soul awake.
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