It’s around 8:30 p.m. and suddenly your friends’ Snapchat stories are full of videos and pictures of yet another phenomenal sunset. You tap through pictures with brilliant oranges and pinks, captioned with phrases of awe and wonder. It is no surprise how popular this media phenomenon is as sunsets can be quite breathtaking. Cliches are cliches for a reason: because people enjoy them. Sunsets are easy to love, easy to capture, and easy to share. It takes very little, if any, planning to watch a sunset...
Unless you happened to pull an all-nighter, have to get up early for work, or if you are the ever rare morning person; appreciating a sunrise can become a difficult battle between you and your bed. It takes a conscious effort to watch a sunrise. Yet, one of my favorite memories is going on a sunrise hike with two of my friends last summer. We met at 3:00 A.M. to give us enough time to climb up the easy trail we had chosen. In the classic spirit of adventure, we got lost and ended up on a much harder trail than we had planned for. We were not even close to the top when it came to be time to watch the sunrise so we got to a good watching point and sat down to eat the doughnuts we packed the night before. As soon as our focus was turned to the sun's morning debut, we were smiling at the day's welcome. Any complaints of exhaustion were forgotten in the soft hues of the dawn. There is a certain kind of peace I feel when I am wide awake when most of the city around me is still dreaming and this peace is reflected for me in the sunrise. For whatever reason, a sunrise seems softer, more gentle, than a sunset. It seems as though while a sunset is a grand finale, a sunrise is a whispered promise. A promise for a new day, a promise for a new start. The gentle reminder of new beginnings is motivation to continue on everyday.
I believe certain people are akin to sunrises. They are quiet in their strength and humble in their beauty. They do not show off for everyone, and so, only few actually get the privilege of getting to know them. Sometimes, they are shy; but mostly this type of person is reserved. They will become genuinely attached to those they love so they are careful to let people in. They will strive to be a light in the world, set on making a difference. They will be weary, however, as the cruelty and hate in the world weighs them down more than they will admit. So, while they can appreciate the sunsets around them, they find comfort in others who, like them, are not boastful in their understanding of the world.
To get to know a sunrise kind of person can be difficult, but I promise it is always rewarding. While the ease of watching a sunset is no bad thing, some of the best things to see and some of the best people to meet won't be easy to find. Putting in the effort to make your world more colorful will always be worth it, but it's up to you to wake up.
