I'm a Lateness Survivor

         I've never really been able to grasp the concept of time, specifically how to manage it. The idea of arriving “late” to functions has always been a habit of mine for as long as I can remember, and unfortunately I haven’t escaped the endless gray area of lateness in favor of arriving on time, or better yet, early.
         What is “late” anyways? I honestly don’t intend to be rude when I sneak into a meeting ten minutes after it begins. I’m just simply caught up in something that is more valuable to my time. This is why I felt no remorse when I strolled into my study abroad meeting ten minutes late while wringing out my hair after getting soaked from the torrential downpour outside.
         My lateness was a misunderstanding, really. You see, I hadn't slept much the night before—maybe two hours—so I was exhausted. I thought that I would lie down for a 20 or 30 minute snooze in order to refuel my energy tank so I could accomplish the twenty-thousand other things I had to get done later that day (Perks of being a college student). However, my mini-snooze was so rudely interrupted when my friend Penelope called and frantically asked if I was attending the study abroad meeting. I’m pretty sure I mumbled some incoherent response stating that I would attend one of the other meetings later in the month. Little did I know, this meeting was mandatory if I wanted to study abroad, so when Penelope’s voice hastily relayed that crucial detail I flew out of my bed and dashed out of the door wearing a pair of half-destroyed UGG boots and a pair of dirty yoga pants. Believe me, it was not an all-star fashion moment for me. And of course it was pouring outside. Of course!
         But there I was, awkwardly maneuvering throughout the too-close-together desks in order to find a seat. Even better, the study abroad professor stopped talking and everyone turned to stare at me. I brushed off the situation as feigned discomfort, and slouched back in my chair in order to emit the sense that I couldn't give two hoots about this meeting. The professor droned on and on about some forms we had to get signed, but I was busy thinking about the nap that was robbed of me and how it would have been much more beneficial than this garbage. Right on cue, the alarm I had set earlier began to go off. It wasn't your average alarm sound either; I set my alarm to the song “Heaven” by DJ Sammy. As soon as I heard the beginning words “Baby you’re all that I want, when you’re lying here in my arms…” everyone turned to stare…yet again. And then they burst out laughing. One guy sitting behind me even joked, “What a great song choice!” I wanted to vomit, crawl into a hole, and hit my head repeatedly on the edge of my desk, but I remained cool and in control and brushed off the situation with a laugh. Even though it was a total FML moment.
         So what is the moral of this story? Well, I've definitely made more of an effort to get more sleep during the night so that I never have a nap that conflicts with a function in which I could have had an alarm set. I've also worked on getting those ridiculous forms signed (but not really). And I still have been successfully late to almost every function of my college career with no shame whatsoever. Hey, I consider myself to be on time. Everyone else is just simply early.