Sunrise in Abu Dhabi (Photo Credit: Pippa Biddle)

Waking up early. It really is a polarizing topic. My goal every weekday is to go to bed before 10:30pm. Sometimes that is difficult. On wednesday’s is it down right impossible as I am in class from 6-10pm and still have to eat dinner.

Why do I go to bed before my parents? Because I like to wake up early. I like to open my eyes, roll over, and watch the sunrise from my window all before my alarm, which is set for a very reasonable 6:30am, goes off. I attribute this to a few things:

1. I grew up with my room next to my parents room. My dad would wake up really early for work everyday. He is really bad at being quiet. Hence, I started waking up early. 
2. I grew up camping. When I am camping the sun, or the stick poking me in the back, is my alarm clock. Either way I  am not jarred awake by a quacking duck or horn or any other crazy alarm sounds they have come up with.
3. Sunrises are pretty.

I think the 3rd point is the best. Even after many a morning watching the sun rise I still never get bored of it. From Abu Dhabi, (see image) to Tanzania, to NYC, sunrises are undeniably gorgeous. And, I would argue, distinctly different from sunsets.

You see, watching the sunset is like watching the final scene of Romeo & Juliet. It is beautiful, but it is also tragic. Those lives, and that day, are coming to a close. You will never again be able to live on that day, at that time, as you are in that moment. As the sun dips behind the horizon it is a curtain falling. It will rise again tomorrow but you are forever unsure of whether it can ever again be as good as it just was.

Watching the sunrise is like the opening music to your favorite musical, opera, or ballet. You have an idea of what is to come but you never know if there will be a tweak or change that will mix it up. There is a level of anticipation, apprehension, and admiration for the beauty you are about to witness. When I see the sun rise I see my day starting. Then, from the very moment the sun, in it’s entirety, is visible, I take the reigns on my day. Whether it is going to the gym or jumping in a cab to the airport, I have an acute sense of the fact that this day is mine to make.

I have 12+ hours, depending on season, till the sun will set and that book with close.

At least until the sun rises again.