The 5 a.m. radio shift was never something I dreamed of having. If anything, it was something straight out of my nightmares. Let the rest of the birds catch all the worms; I don't get hungry until much later in the day anyways. At least that way I'd get to sleep in to a more reasonable hour.
Unfortunately, however, you have to put the time in to ever escape the wrath of early morning shows, so I found myself waking up at 4:30 a.m. one sorrowful Monday morning just a few weeks ago. With my expectations low and my sleep loss dangerously high, I trudged to my first show while questioning a lot my decisions. Something about that early morning vibe, when the sun is nowhere to be seen and an entire day of possibilities lays out in front of you, will make you quite introspective.
Luckily, I managed to drag a friend out of bed (emphasis on the dragging part) so I wouldn't suffer alone. Thank goodness I did, because I soon realized I would have been stuck talking to myself for an hour without her there. Let me tell you, sleep deprivation and aimlessly talking into a microphone don't make the best pair. It's a shot in the dark, really, with whatever you'll end up sharing. The two of us proceeded to spend an hour jabbering away, both on- and off-air, about everything from the election to whether waffles or pancakes are the best breakfast food (waffles win by a landslide, I'm with Leslie Knope on this one).
The hidden gem of it all is that most mornings, not a soul is listening. It's a strange feeling, knowing that somewhere down the line someone might listen to the archived show, but in the moment, it's just you, your thoughts on waffles, and the music you feel like listening to that day. Surprisingly enough, it made waking up at such an obscene hour a little more worth it. Without the hustle and bustle of the thousands of people on campus, everything felt calm, tranquil. Amidst a semester where I'm already behind in work before it even gets assigned, it was exactly what I needed.
And so, I discovered the good side to waking up before the rest of the world. Granted, you won't ever hear a peep from me before at least 6:30 a.m. if I have a say in the matter. However, I may just take a break from hitting the snooze button for a while and see what happens.
