Confession time: I love staying up late. And I don't mean late as in 1:30 a.m. I mean late as in 4:30, 5 a.m. Come on, it's the middle of winter break and I don't have anything going on. These early hours of the morning/late hours of the night are the only time when I can really be alone. Sure, during the day my parents are gone, but there's always the possibility of still interacting with someone else, even if it's just the mailman. It's not that I hate people, I just REALLY like my quiet time. So in honor of these sacred hours, here are the stages of staying up late that I, and possibly you, have experienced during winter break.

10 p.m.

If your parents are like my parents, they have to get up at normal (read: ungodly) hours to go to work during the week. So while I've holed myself up in my room for most of the evening, I usually hear my parents getting ready to go to bed around 10 p.m. Sometimes it's later if they're feeling brave, but 10 p.m. is a good guess.

11 p.m.

I take my Netflix/book/whatever downstairs, turning on all of the lights so I can pretend that it's still daytime out. If it's bright inside, it's daytime, right?

11:45 p.m.

The voice inside my head saying, "No don't eat 70 cookies" gets tired and goes to sleep, leaving me alone (in close proximity to the fridge and pantry). I can usually will myself to stay away from snacks for a little longer, but this is the time of the night when self-control starts fading.

12:30 a.m.

I've gone back to our hunter-gatherer roots, scouring the pantry and fridge for something delicious to eat. Should I eat leftovers from dinner? Should I eat chocolate? Is it too late to make popcorn in the microwave? I'm only limited by my imagination -- and the food in the house.

1:15 a.m.

I don't know about you, but I had apple crisp almost every night last week at 1:15 a.m., so that's where I'm at.

2 a.m.

This is the time of night when most of my friends go to sleep. It's a bit sad at first because I've lost my conversation partners, but this makes me focus even more on Netflix. "Are you still watching?" Netflix asks. "HELL YEAH!"

3:30 a.m.

It's the time of the night when my contacts start irritating my eyes, so I usually move upstairs, get ready for bed, and settle down. But don't be fooled. The party isn't over yet.

4 a.m.

I tell myself, "Oh, only one more episode. It's not that late yet, right?"

4:45 a.m.

I realize that my parents will be waking up soon. The house is unnervingly quiet, so it's the perfect atmosphere to fall asleep. I snuggle under my covers and open up Tumblr, telling myself that I will go to bed before 5:00 a.m.

5:15 a.m.

I'm still scrolling through Tumblr when I hear something disrupting the silence of the night. WHO DARES?!

And then I realize that it's my dad's alarm to get up for work. Panic strikes because I know for sure that my parents would be concerned if they knew that I was still awake. I get off my phone and close my eyes, blissful and peaceful after some quality alone time.