Progression of an All-Nighter

Post spring break academics never fail to push the night owl in me to new heights.  After midnight, suddenly it feels like there is ample time to discuss with the youngest hours of each growing day who is  lonelier, who is under more pressure, who is closer to an end result-- the individuals still awake in the library, or the hour of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 AM?

A trip to the bathroom can become a pep talk:

When you are actually forced into the stacks to look for books (yes, printed books) to support arguments in papers, you can find hidden gems.  Yes, it was relevant-- the paper I was writing was titled "Bruce Springsteen and His Public: the Mediation of a Rock and Roll Savior."

When the sun finally begins to rise and your eyelids begin to fall, a shower can feel ALMOST as good as sleep...

And before heading back to the trenches, sometimes taking the five block walk down 23rd Street to contemplate the world through MLK's eyes and what I see before me now is a necessary reminder of why I am here staying up all night to finish papers in the first place.