I wake up as the sunlight shines through my window and touches my skin. I stretch after eight hours of sleep and check the time: 8:30 AM. For the first time in a while, I’m excited to wake up. I go downstairs to eat breakfast with the family and start to get ready for an online school.

When Governor Pritzker announced schools were closed for the rest of the year, I was filled with relief. Not only would I be able to work on my classes at my own pace, but I could finally fix my ruined sleep schedule.

When regular school was still a thing, on average, I would get about six hours of sleep. Sometimes, I wouldn’t even sleep. My daily routine would start with waking up at 6-6:30 AM every day, going to school for seven hours, getting home at around 4:30 PM, and doing homework from 6:30 PM to midnight. Not only did I barely have time for myself, but I barely got sleep. I would wake up exhausted, and sometimes I didn’t even care if I missed a school day.

Once a week, I would wake up five minutes before the bus coming and somehow, I still got myself out of the house on time. Now, my daily routine consists of me waking up at 7:30-8:30 AM, doing my classwork for two to four hours, and finishing at around 1 PM. With the time to spare, I could spend it on myself by watching some shows on Netflix or sleeping even more.

With COVID-19 now in place, I’m finally able to fix my sleep schedule, which has been ruined for years. I haven’t slept this well since elementary school. My stress and anxiety have gone down by a ton, and I’m able to do things on my own time. Not only can I spend more time with my family, but I’m able to spend time with myself.