by Grace Pappadellis ’29 on November 13, 2025
Opinion
We’ve reached the time of year when the clock shifts backwards and the evenings are dim, quiet, and sleep-inducing. Winter mornings are brighter, active, and cheery. Daylight savings welcomes the heart of fall and leads us into winter time, allowing children to get some sunshine while waiting for the school bus. Although the sentiment is understandable, as night falls one hour earlier before my body and brain have adjusted to the change, I’m often saddened by the theft of my hour of sunlight.
My father has an early November birthday, and we used to joke that every year he was granted one extra hour of sleep as his gift from the universe. My father loves to sleep. He doesn’t mess around when it comes to sleep. However, he never appreciated this gift, as he is like me—a cynic, reminiscent of summer, someone who struggles to appreciate anything that provides even a mere hint that winter is underway.
Regardless of the extra hour of sleep, darkness is darkness. The earlier it gets dark, the earlier I feel the temptation to end my day, retreat to my bed, and call it a night when there’s still so much day left. During this time of year, my lack of productivity does a disservice to more than just my packed schedule; it also affects my psyche. I’m sluggish, burnt out, and tired, and I can never identify the reason. “You’re spent,” my parents always said, as I curled up on the couch after high school and basketball practice, with barely any remaining energy to attempt my homework. Now that I’m in college, my schedule is so different, layered, and obscure. The switch to darkness is not at all gradual, the harsh breeze pummels me through campus, and I battle to get my bedroom door open as if I’m stuck in a wind tunnel. When my roommate and I get ready to grab dinner, it feels like the middle of the night. My internal clock shakes and rattles, under great duress.
This time of year sneaks up on me as if I’ve never experienced it before. Summer and early fall give me great amnesia, like winter time has no real existence. When it finally does hit, and winter has completely taken over, my energy expends at maximum speed, as the darkness takes reign over everything. Dark mornings, dark nights. All the other light feels artificial. How does one save daylight in their bank? I seem to frivolously spend it, failing to enjoy it while it lingers into the evening and makes the trees glow and smile.
I understand the point of daylight savings. The clocks need extra attention, every season must have differences. However, I have the urge to rebel and ignore my clock, shut my eyes when I’m in public spaces, even when the time is large and obvious in front of me. I simply want to protect myself from going bankrupt!