OMGZ!! Less sleep=more colds????

Really? You needed to publish an article about this?

From the NY Times:

People who got less than seven hours of sleep a night were almost three times more likely than those who slept eight hours or more to get sick after exposure to a cold virus, a new study has found.

Adults who spent a lot of time in bed tossing and turning were even more vulnerable, the researchers reported.

“The poorer your sleep, the worse off you are,” said Sheldon Cohen, a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and first author of the study, which was published on Monday in The Archives of Internal Medicine. “That was the surprise.”

So my lack of sleep + fidgety-ness means that I shall get a cold.

And yes, I toss and turn ALL FREAKING NIGHT. The kids I have to share with at Model UN hate it. And it's a pain, because it means that more often than not, I wake up two minutes before my alarm goes off because I've kicked off my blankets.

But look:

Unfortunately, [some professor] said, people don’t have much control over their sleep efficiency.

That's superhelpful. Thanks. I'm more likely to get sick than someone who sleeps just as much as me, but I can do NOTHING about it. Wonderful.

Reaching and reaching.

As everyone who has and will read this knows, I attend a competitive public magnet school. I chose my school because I knew that the academics would be awesome and I would learn a lot. Additionally, I thought that the school would actually challenge me, something my middle school miserably failed to do. I never anticipated, though, that the challenges could prove to be overwhelming to the point of tears and panic attacks.

For the past week or so (ever since mid-trimester reports came out, incidentally), I've been feeling like I can't do it. My brain tells me, You can! Keep going! Go! but my heart and body want me to stop. They want me to relax, get a good night's sleep, and take time out of my life to think. I had no idea which plan is going to win out.

This evening the two ideas finally clashed enough that there was a battle (read: I cried and tried to make it all go away and hoped my dad would make it better.). My heart was telling me that it wouldn't matter if I stopped, but my brain was telling me to go anyway. The combination of the two ideas led to an odd, unexpected, and unwelcome thought. Maybe I really can't do it. Maybe I'm just not an "A" student in math (which I hate) and chemistry (which I love). Maybe it's okay to enjoy something while not excelling at it. And maybe I shouldn't worry about it and just let things happen.

I started to write a conclusion for this post and realized that I have no conclusion yet. My dad suggested a math tutor. It sounds like it might work. I know for a fact that's I'm going to see my chemistry teacher tomorrow and figure out why (after a high test grade) I'm only in the "lower part of the A range". Beyond that, though, I have no idea. For now, at least, I'm going to bed early.

"Nice" v. "Easy" v. "Amazing"

At my school, most students really come to learn. I think, however, that the freshman have yet to recognize this characteristic within themselves. It's easy for me to understand that. After all, us nerds go through middle school trying pretty darn hard to hide the fact that we would rather be doing math or studying history than gossiping in the hallways or playing sports. Now, though, after a full year of getting that shyness thoroughly stamped out of me, the freshmen's attitude is pretty odd to deal with.

Just this morning, I overheard a conversation between two freshmen. Of course, they felt the need to include me in it. Just what I need--a conversation with freshman rather than sleep.

Patricia's Bus Conversation

Cast of Characters

• J: Somewhat arrogant, a bit of a show-off. Freshman.
• D: Don't know him. Doesn't say much here. Freshman.
  
• Me: Practically perfect in every way. Sophomore.
  

J: Oh my god! My English teacher is insane! She gave us so much homework!

D: Really? I, like, don't have any!

Me: [thinking, "Welcome to BCA, freshman."]

J: [deciding to bother me] Hey is *teacher* hard?

Me: Dunno. Never had her. [turns away quickly]

J: Wait, who'd you have?

Me: *teacher2*

J: Was he hard?

Me: Yup.

J: That sucks.

Me: Not really. I learned so much.

J: Well, was he nice?

Me: No, he was sadistic, cynical, and sarcastic. It was amazing.

J and D: [confused freshman looks on their faces]

Other non-freshmen bus riders: [thinking: "She's right. But why are they talking when they could be sleeping???"]

The End.

The lesson of this? Yes, my teacher was hard. He graded to kill. His favorite phrase was "I want you to have more work and me to have less work." But he's still the best teacher I've ever had, and his class was the best ever. And the freshmen will soon learn that Nice doesn't mean Enjoyable.