As many may understand, adapting to a new environment can be challenging and exhausting. It’s especially hard when you’re in a new bed and perhaps far from home. Most of the first nights may be restless. To be honest, I adjusted pretty quickly. But for some reason, on this random Thursday 3 weeks into my stay here, I woke up at 3 a.m. and could not fall back asleep. At around 4:30, I finally accepted my fate that the day had started.

This meant that in order to be at least somewhat productive after lying awake in bed for a few hours, I would need to leave the room. Sometimes it’s difficult to be quiet and sneaky, but for sake of your roommate’s sanity and yours, it’s best not to wake them up. I was able to change and get a quick snack before I left the room, planning to go on a run (that eventually turned into a walk). However, if you’re like me, safety is a huge priority. I went into the floor lounge on my residence hall (which is great — utilize them!) and watched Netflix until sunrise. It was a gorgeous view looking out over the buildings as the sun came up. As soon as I felt it was light enough to go out, I headed down the four flights of stairs, ready to continue the morning.

There are many different areas to run and walk around campus. My personal favorite, however, is right along the river to the north. For a few minutes, you can see the way that the northern campus buildings frame the river. You may even spot the rowing team during their morning practice. Once you get to the bridge and cross over towards Hancher Auditorium, you start moving away from the city and getting into more of the park scene. I like to walk around City Park listening to music or a podcast. Today, the media of choice was one of my favorite podcasts called “SmartLess”, hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes. Since I’m a pretty big film nerd, I listened to the episode with Jordan Peele as he talked about his past projects and the most recent film, Nope. It was definitely refreshing to be outside in the early morning listening to a comedic yet fascinating conversation. If you want to go for a walk or run, at any time of the day, I would recommend listening to something that makes you happy. Maybe it’s a song, a podcast, or maybe even just the sounds of the nature or city around you. But it’s so nice to get a break from the bustle of classes and college life and just enjoy the space around you. (Beware, however, of other pedestrians or bikers; they can sneak up on you. I think I nearly had a heart attack when a bicyclist zipped by me this morning.)

I came back around 7:20, and the nice thing about taking the north route is that Catlett’s dining hall is there to greet you upon your return. I had some eggs, fruit, and French toast- a staple at Catlett breakfasts. Once I finished, I headed back up to my dorm and got ready to meet a friend for Starbucks. We had planned to get it this morning anyway, but what good luck it was that I was in desperate need of caffeine! A quick autumn-flavored pick-me-up was exactly what I needed to continue the rest of my day of classes. Let’s just hope I can find time to squeeze in a nap (remember this when making your schedule)!