I had a poignant moment during my very last all-nighter of undergrad:

I was finishing my very last assignments ever of my Salem College career and somewhere around 5:30 am I jumped up, ran from our camp in the basement of a different dorm, and bolted to my room to brush my teeth.

I could no longer ignore the fact that I had not brushed my teeth and they felt as fuzzy as the fleece I was wearing.

It was sick. I was sick. I had a problem. I could no longer function—or write—during the day. But I had made it to the end.

And then, I slept. For about two days straight.

To say that I mastered the all-nighter during my four years would be an understatement. I was pretty much the ninja master of staying awake for hours on end, typing furiously at my keyboard and screwing around long enough during the normal hours (until at least 3 am) to HAVE to make it until class the next day.

Damn you, facebook.

My best friend and I would down coffee, pop adderall (hey, at least mine was prescribed) and sleep in shifts. The second semester of my senior year was so grueling I was pulling at least one a week just to keep up. Writing and editing the first four chapters of a novel is no easy feat.

I basically triple majored. It was a dumb idea. Read More »