Do you have a favorite time of the day? As I have grown into an adult, I have come to love mornings. The serenity of an early morning is incomparable. I repeatedly slept my mornings away as a teenager, often feeling lethargic due to my lack of sleep from the night before. But were you ever really a teenager if you didn’t pull all-nighters with your friends? Or stay up until 3 a.m. just to brag about it the next day? Now that I have responsibilities, such as college and work, I’ve come to realize how productive I can be by starting my days early. Ultimately, my favorite part of the morning is sunrise. I simply love watching the world light up from the darkness of night, reminding us that every day is a fresh start.
The simplicity of a sunrise is what makes it so uniquely beautiful. Luckily, it is a free show that airs each day for the whole world to enjoy. Not only do we get to see our days begin, but we also get to watch them draw to a close at dusk. I recently got to experience jaw-dropping sunrises and sunsets along the Atlantic coast while my family and I vacationed in Ocean City, Maryland. I found both times during the day to be extremely peaceful and reflective, especially sunrises.
Every morning while I was in Maryland, I journeyed down to the ocean at about 5 a.m. With my Canon camera in hand, I snapped pictures of the horizon as the sky changed. This may sound strange, but those were some of my favorite memories from vacation this year. Spending time by the ocean at dawn, consciously breathing and thinking while watching the sun dance into the sky. I always wished the moments of a sunrise would last longer than they do. All of a sudden it’s day break, the sun is heating up the air, and a new beginning is upon us.
If you are looking for a small escape from reality, I highly recommend making your days a little longer and waking up earlier. If you’re not a morning person, try it anyway. Just commit to an extra cup of coffee in the afternoon! Finding something that you connect to is rather difficult. It took me 20 years to realize that rising with the sun is something that truly makes me happy. Some of you might not care one bit about how our days start and end. But for me, they are the times of my day where I can just tuck away all distractions and appreciate what is in front of me.
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. I am encouraging you to become that someone that recognizes the beauty in the little things in life.
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