Once I stayed awake all night to see the sunrise. With people who I love, we decided it would be a moment that we would remember forever. In a foreign country, with a foreign language, in a city that was strange to me, the daybreak was something that I could understand, something that did not give me an instant to decide followed by hefty consequences. I emerged in the dark, a still wet swimsuit uncomfortably cold underneath my clothes, reminding me of the limited time I had there. I walked through the streets, where in just a few hours; there would be a different city. For now it was peaceful, with natives quietly hurrying to work to start their day. The beach was empty, so we sat in a place that could only be reached by the most enthusiastic beachgoers, willing to risk their hours of vacation sleep for the spot. But many of those thoughts were mere whims, as the delusions of no sleep began to sift into my head. I laid on the sand that was cold on my exposed skin but comforting compared to the rigid stature of being on my feet, which I had assumed for an accountable number of hours spent awake. I sat up as the sun rose, though blocked by buildings, its rays lightened the sky. I was rewarded by the familiarity so far away, with people I had never experienced such a thing with before. It was a moment that struck me as a prime in my existence, a moment when earthly concerns were less then relevant and thought was unneeded; merely being there was what made the moment. Once the sun had risen, I waded into the water and ducked my head beneath the cool waves to begin my new day.

Now I pray to sleep through it. It is no longer refreshing or revolutionary in thought to witness something that occurs daily. I lust after those few extra minutes of sleep that shelters me from the day to come. Sometimes, when I sleep I find myself in that day again where every moment was valued and every second would become a lesson to reflect upon in the future. In those few extra minutes, I can treasure the sunrise again. Daybreak is not the beginning to work and feigned excitement or conversations you don’t want to have. It is not smiling at whoever you just heard insulted behind their backs or trying to fit social events in between people’s schedules. In my sleep I am removed from the mundane problems that keep me from seeing the sun.