The glare off of the computer screen has reached the point of painful and my tired eyes can barely stand it. Glancing over at my glowing red alarm clock I realize it is only 10 o’clock at night, my usual time to retire to bed.

I take another sip of coffee.

An empty word document is displayed in front of me, titled IA design, and next to that is a small Gmail chatbox which I use to talk with my friend.

me: so r u still up doing work?

Friend: yeupp

lol are you usually in bed by now?

me: yes, no, it depends

It depends on nights like tonight, when I have the language, science, history triple threat looming down on me. It is almost always like this, were I can have long stretches of time with almost no major work, then suddenly all my classes decide to assign a major task.

I look at all the work I have done, look at everything else I have to do tonight and let out a loud sigh, unheard by anyone in my house. Even the dog is asleep.

The prospect of a late night is infuriating, but what my friend says next makes me remember why I should not complain.

Friend: i can’t remember the last time i went to bed at 10

me: ouch

sorry

 Friend: nah it’s normal 😛

In my mind I imagine her smiling, almost laughing off my concern. She is a full, IB diploma candidate, weighed down with seven higher level classes. Of course I have my own IB courses, but they are set off by my three less rigorous ones.

The late night that I am surely facing is rare for me, but not unheard of. For her it seems like a way of life, and I ask her about it. I know she often does not finish her work until after midnight.

me: so for you it’s more of a 2 a.m. thing?

Friend: yeup 😛

me: ew

how do you do that?

I’d go crazy

Friend: i am crazy

Mwahahaha

The evil laugh lifts my spirits and I return to my blank word document, determined to finish as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately quickly translates into four hours of work. My coffee is all gone, my eyes can barely stay open, and I can feel a headache coming on.

My red alarm clock now reads 2 o’clock in the morning. Four hours before my alarm goes off for school, four hours before I must sit in a classroom from 7:20 a.m. until 2:10 p.m., and then spend countless more hours after school working on extra work, retakes, and newspaper.

My friend is still online.

If I am lucky then tomorrow I will finish my work and make it to bed by 10 p.m., but I doubt it.

The thing about high school is that if you want to succeed you have to be prepared to become a bit sleep deprived, but you also need to be ready to become a little crazy.