I have never gone to bed early. I’ve been told by my parents, the school nurses, and every Hockaday teacher that sees me dragging my limp body through the halls that it’s important that I get at least seven or eight hours of sleep per night. Every time, I simply comply with a “I know, it’s a bad habit” and shoot them a shy smile. In truth, it’s not a bad habit, but a part of me and my identity. I don’t even know what I look like without bags under my eyes.

Tons of “science-backed” articles have been published by websites like Huffington Post about the importance of sleep, but today I present to you a “Cheryl-backed” article about why it’s important to not sleep.

1. There is no due date for sleep. Eight hours of sleep are not ever due to Dropbox, TurnItIn.com, and my English teacher’s desk all before the start of class to avoid a ten point penalty — your english paper is. Eight hours of sleep isn’t going to fill in the blank espacios on your Spanish test with vocabulary words that you would’ve known if you’d studied them instead of sleeping. Sleep can wait.
2. If a robber comes into your house, you’d have time to plan your actions. You’d hear their footsteps or some other obvious mistake from this dumb robber who came into a house seeing your light in your room was still on. Would you act dead? Call 911? Hide your valuables? Duel them? The world is your oyster when you don’t sleep.
3. Looking tired is in. More specifically, bags are in. Gucci and Chanel, move aside. Get a glimpse of my bags. I call it the “Spring 2017 Post Exam” look.
4. Music sounds better when there’s a harmonizing hum of someone else’s snore accompanying it. My roommate usually sleeps before I do; I know that not everybody has a roommate that can provide them with a glorious snore, but can I just say that Drake sounds so much better with an underlying fluctuating bass tone. Just putting it out there.
5. When it comes down to it, I can’t get good grades with sleep, and I can’t get good grades without sleep. Might as well get the full experience of the dreadfulness and dreariness of high school and just not sleep.

I don’t want any calls from the nurse or my dorm mom or my father. To all reading: please know that I’m not unreasonable — I do force myself to sleep when I have obligations in the morning like crew practice or a meeting with a teacher, but the key word here is “force.” I’d much rather stay up. And now you know why. #StayWoke

Cheryl Hao – Asst. Web Editor