A good friend of mine likes to remind me, “Mornings are important.” At first, I didn’t understand what they meant in any regard. Coming from someone who used to sleep in, roll out of bed barely looking presentable only to grab a coffee to go before class; I was always annoyed by the sound of my alarm.

My prescribed sleeping medication only allows for eight solid hours of sleep, but then leaves me groggier than usual in the morning. This change led me to become even more irritated by my alarm then I had been before. However, throughout spending a night at my friend’s, they began to show me the true beauty of waking up.

Upon my disbelief, we woke up early, without an alarm (and weren’t grumpy about it). This allowed us to have time to sit on their soft, brown, university apartment couch, staring out at the sunrise, eating breakfast, and sipping on coffee served to me in a perfect floral mug with just enough half and half. I took a deep breath and realized that mornings are more than just important. Mornings set the mood for the day. So, on my own, I wanted to document my own morning routine. I tried my best to mimic the beauty and really feel it.

1. Get out of bed, and brew some coffee!

Get out of bed and turn on the coffee pot. Grab a mug that makes you happy and that you won’t want to put down or leave half full.

2. Pour coffee!

Add your favorite creamer or other add-ins. You can save money and time by figuring out ways to recreate some coffeehouse favorites as well.

3. Place your coffee in a nice sitting place (I use my desk) and gather other contents for breakfast.

Setting up a place that's clean and comfy will help you wake up and stay calm before having to rush through the rest of your day.

4. TAKE YOUR MEDICINE.

This step is situational but EXTREMELY important. TAKE YOUR MEDICINE. I sometimes forget to do this and it can be detrimental to my day.

I was hesitant to include this in my morning routine especially because my this is medication for my mental illnesses but then realized how important it was and decided I couldn’t forget it.

By adding this to my morning routine, I found myself less frantic trying to remember later if I remembered to take my medicine or not.

5. Relax.

This is the hardest step, but... Enjoy your morning. Play some music, look out a window, focus on the way the creamer swirls in your coffee, write poems, read a book...

Do something even for 5 minutes that you don’t normally have time for; something slow before you have to rush full speed into the day. I plan at least 20 minutes of relaxation. I don’t have to rush to get ready and it feels like time just stops.

I am no longer the one to roll out of bed and go. I wake up, reflect on my simple things, and prepare myself for another beautiful day. Now, it’s rare for me to sleep past 8 am and I rarely even need my alarms.

Even with alarms, I allow myself for enough time to wake up, roll out of bed, get ready, and eat breakfast. It truly helps jumpstart my day and set a positive mood for whatever the day throws at me. Mornings are important y’all. Go ahead and see for yourself.