"The moment I open my eyes," first-year College student Galen MacCaba said with a mischievous wink, "which is usually at the crack of dawn, I spend several moments re-aligning my seven chakras in order to optimize my aura's brilliance."
He continued in his native Irish dialect.
"After rearranging my assortment of dream-catchers and other lucky charms, I sacrifice three cockroaches to bring the gods' blessing on the new day. My morning workout consists of a foray into the cemetery beside Old Dorms, where I use the ancient art of necromancy to summon my Council of Elders to seek their advice for the day, headed by the wise Abraham Streckler..."
MacCaba trailed off and after the pause, added, "It's quite liberating."
Perhaps not everyone's day starts off like this, but everyone experiences some kind of morning ritual, even if they do so without really noticing or paying attention to the details of the process.
Many people have a set order of things they do each morning -- an idiosyncratic process of "waking up" and starting their day, while others have a less ordered approach and take on the day as it is thrown at them.
"I am not a person of ritual at all," first-year College student Mayme Donahue said. "I like my days unexpected without a set routine," she said as a clever grin spread across her face, adding lightly, "life would get so boring. You can't live by habit."
Others shy away from this sort of spontaneity and prefer a patterned way of starting their days.
"I follow the same routine every day," said Jessica Wasilewski, first-year College student and lacrosse player. "And I always have. I get out of bed, brush my teeth, take a shower, get dressed, brush my hair, stare off at nothing for a few good minutes -- which usually makes me late, and so I have to take a NutriGrain bar for breakfast to class with me," she said shaking her head. "That staring business kills me."
With time and planning, a morning can seem a little less hectic and a bit more relaxed. More time allows for the possibility of small details in a morning routine.
"I wake up and put on whatever sweat pants I can find on my floor," said first-year Engineering student James Crawford, matter-of-factly. "Then I go to O-Hill and get breakfast and I call my Dad just to see what he's doing -- it's kind of a father-son thing. Before I head off to class, I like to trim my facial hair and pluck those annoying nose hairs that are really aggravating. That's a necessity."
Others make sure to be awake early to enjoy an extra few minutes in the morning.
"I have to set both my alarms," said first-year College student Stephanie Everett. "My radio comes on first and then my alarm, just to ease me out of sleep. Typically, I wake up early because I'm paranoid about being late. I always check my mail and get on IM, even if its 6:30 in the morning. I mean who's going to be on that early, you know? But I like to take my time, I hate being rushed."
Waking up at different times of the day can alter the way a person wakes up.Early-risers tend to have a different kind of morning than those accustomed to sleeping in later. Second-year College student Lisa Krowlikowski would rather have a few more seconds to snooze than extra time in her morning routine.
"I hit the snooze button at least once," Krowlikowski said. "Sometimes more than once -- I do [this] every single morning and try to deny the fact that its 6:20 in the morning. Sometimes I sleep in my clothes so I don't have to change in the morning. It saves time ... and every minute counts," she said, adding without hesitation, "you know what, it sucks to get up that early, but I get all my stuff done and I have the rest of the day to do whatever else I feel like."
Those who share a room, especially first years in the dorms, have to consider their roommate when rising early in the morning.
"I have a coke while doing my devotional," said first-year College student Josh Moran. "I shower, brush my teeth, get dressed and I do all this while my roommate is still asleep so I'm like huddled by the window for what little light comes in at the basement. It kind of makes my mornings challenging."
For others waking up can be a jolting experience as well as challenging one.
"I wake up by alarm every morning," said first-year College student Ilan Pick. "The alarm scares me sometimes and I'll jump up not realizing it's just my alarm. I've just about knocked myself out getting up so quickly. I've charged the door in such a state of confusion and not until I'm out in the hallway in my boxers and bare feet do I finally realize where I am and what I'm doing."
Although order and routine can bring simplicity to life, at times morning habits may prove hazardous and even embarrassing.
"Well the first thing I have to do when I wake up is I get up and go to the bathroom," said first-year College student Jessica Morgan. "So one time I dreamed that I was up and in the bathroom peeing, but I was still in my bed and I peed on myself," she said with a quiet laugh to herself.
A perfect day must have a perfect beginning. Whether it is breakfast in bed, the right song on your alarm-clock radio or a soothing wake-up call, we all have an image of an ideal start to the day.
"I don't like to wake up to begin with," said first-year College student Susan Curl. "But a guy -- correction, make that a hot guy -- bringing you breakfast in bed would be a perfect way to wake up. I never get to eat breakfast anyways because they don't serve breakfast late enough at the dining hall."
Morgan's ideal wake-up call also included a good breakfast, but with a cold helping of snow on the side -- not a hot guy.
"I would want to wake up to a parade or snow piled up to my window," Morgan said as she looks out the third floor of Echols dorm, "because I know school would have to be canceled. Or waking up with breakfast in bed -- pancakes and eggs with sausage that my mom made on a stove just outside my dorm room -- would be awesome."
Second-year College student Matt Bauserman agreed with Morgan and also described inclement weather to be the one thing he hopes for every morning.
"The sounds of the weatherman saying classes are canceled would be the perfect start to my day," he said.
On a daily basis however, he settles for waking up with his toothbrush and coffee cup.
"I can't walk away before I've brushed my teeth," he said. "But I would have to say the essential, key thing to a successful morning ritual is a strong dose of caffeine. I always go to Starbucks for a triple grand skim latte"
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