In Defense of the 8AM Class

photo credit: Nino Souza

by Lanie Brice

One age-old piece of college advice is that you should never under any circumstances enroll in an 8 AM class unless you want to hate your life for an entire semester. Even though I’ve always been an early riser, I’ve done my best to heed this warning. Throughout my college career, I’ve started no earlier than 10 to keep a safe distance from the dreaded 8 AM. It made sense. I liked my quiet, slow mornings even though I regularly woke up early enough to make it to a lecture at the crack of dawn. 

Then, in my second semester of senior year, I broke the cardinal college rule. Granted, I am taking an 8:30 class, not an 8:00. Taking the professor with a way higher Rate My Professor score felt more important than my beauty rest. And I want to let you in on a secret: I love my super early class. So I’m here to offer a counter point to the conventional wisdom and give you the upsides of getting your lectures done early. 

It Gets Your Day Started

The thing about me is that I’m an early riser, but I can wake up at 6:30 and easily not start my day until 10 if left to my own devices. When I’m forced to be out the door by 7:30 to commute to campus, though, my day has a hard starting point that gets me dressed, outside, and moving bright and early. By the time I finish class at 10, I’ve already accomplished something productive, and it’s easy to roll into a walk, meal prep, or working on big school projects for the rest of the day. I find that I feel more fresh and excited to work when I start my day off with getting out of the house and engaging in some active learning. 

If you’ve been wanting to start your day earlier or inject more structure into your amorphous college life, an 8 AM class is a great way to start a habit that will likely bleed into even the days you don’t have to be on campus bright and early. 

You’re Free to Do Whatever You Want For The Rest of The Day

While there’s a chance you’ll have to go to other classes directly afterward or later in the day, sometimes your 8 AM is your only class. That means that you’ve gotten your school obligations out of the way nice and early, and you’re free to spend the rest of your day however you wish, whether that means focused, intense, uninterrupted study sessions or taking the E Line to the beach to stroll around some shops. There’s not much to miss out on when many people are still asleep, just getting up, or commuting to work, so it also makes it easier to fully devote yourself to focusing on the class at hand. You’ll be free to follow whatever cool thing is happening on any given day with the peace of mind that school is already complete.

It’s Extra Acceptable to Wear Pajamas 

We all know that the standard of dress in college is low and also quite varied at any time of day. You have people in actual flannel pajama bottoms sitting next to someone dressed to the nines in designer or carefully curated thrift finds. But for those of us that like to be comfy, the early morning hours on campus offer an invitation to be even more casual than usual. When I’m walking through campus at 8, I’m surrounded by fellow students also in a T-shirt and sweats or ratty hoodies and more actual pajama pants than in the true daytime.There’s a general air that close are an afterthought if you’re up that early. While it’s fun to get dressed up, the comfy, cozy vibes make early morning classes more approachable. 

Commuting and Public Transit Is Easier and Campus Has Fewer Scooters/Skateboards to Dodge

I commute to campus at 7:30 some days and 9 and 3 other days, and the early morning train ride is always my favorite. This is the time of day where I spot the most fellow USC students on their way to class, and there’s always plenty of empty seats. Also, if you’ve ever tried to take the LA Metro, you’ll know that delays of twenty to thirty minutes are the norm, not the exception. First thing in the morning, though, there’s less time for random problems to derail the train schedule so they promptly show up every 5-9 minutes, which makes the pain of barely missing the train easier to endure. This takes a lot of the frustration out of being a commuter student! Additionally, dodging the skateboarders and bicyclists on campus is always a bit harrowing, and there’s simply fewer people out so early in the morning, so campus itself is much easier to navigate.

The Weather Is Nice 

This last point is a small bonus, but as someone who loathes the heat, I love being able to commute during the coolest part of the day and while it’s still light out. I always feel refreshed and more prepared to take on the day after a nice walk through campus to the lecture hall enjoying the stillness of a still sleepy campus. I think LA is at its best first thing in the morning.

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