Why do you get out of bed in the morning?

It really is the little things in life, I think. 

It’s the little things to live for, to strive for, to look forward to. It’s the little things that get us out of bed in the morning. 

It’s the outfit you pieced together the night before. It’s your new Discover Weekly on Spotify. It’s the donut with sprinkles you’ve been looking forward to all week. It’s the package that’s set to arrive after school. 

It’s these small-scale snippets of life—the minute moments that make life worth living—that get us out of bed in the morning, that jump-start our day and keep us moving.

Junior Julia Kirkman uses coffee as her literal jump-start to the day: “I have a caffeine addiction; so if I don’t get coffee in thirty minutes, I get withdrawal headaches.”

If you’re reading this, Julia, I—an avid coffee hater—respect that as your “little thing” immensely.

For junior Alex Dellinger, he gets out of bed in the morning to “hear new music.” And senior Olivia Luplow loves to create her outfits and wear them the next day. 

Those are the little things for these three humans. Coffee, music, and put-together outfits. 

But maybe there’s something more than those little things. 

Yourself. 

Sophomore Dominic DeStefano gets out of bed in the morning so he can actively work to be the best Dominic he can be; he strives to “create a better version of [himself] every day and be someone people can look up to.” 

I use the little things to motivate me just as much as Julia, Olivia, and Alex do. But if those little things aren’t enough one day, maybe I can turn to a bigger thing: myself.

Just as Dominic does, maybe one of these days I’ll abandon my cocoon of blankets for not just the donut, but for myself. 

Waking up for me, working for me, and living that day for me. To be the best me I can be that day. 

So, I guess maybe it’s a little more than the little things in life. 

But, I’ll still get up to blast my favorite album and eat my favorite breakfast.