BEDA Day 21: Finding faith in weird places...

So this morning at 7:22 am I was working on my short story. I had about a page or so left to write. But I was starting to get very tired. Tired to the point were I could not motivate my fingers to keep typing or my brain to click. When this happens to me I like to "think about what I am going to write next" for a minute and lay down and close my eyes. The intention is that I will plan out stuff and get a bit rested and then keep going. I have written whole assignments in this way many times. I call it "writing in my sleep". However, this also tends to end badly. Like with me falling asleep and not getting up in time to properly finish the assignment.

Well anyway. So this morning I was getting real tired and I decided I would think/nap for exactly 30 minutes. I figured it would energize me enough to get me through the rest of the job. So I set the loudest possible ringtones on my phone and laid down to think.

Now let me take a moment to explain to you exactly how dangerous this was. The assignment that I had due this afternoon was worth 50% of my grade in this class, and my instructor in that class is the most strict instructor I have ever had. I once did not get credit on a really big assignment in her class because I submitted it online exactly 30 SECONDS late. She does not fuck around about not accepting late work. She really just DOES NOT accept it. At all. No leniency what so ever. So it was either get this done and submitted by exactly 1pm or fail the class.

Well anyway. Guess what happened. I SLEPT THROUGH MY ALARMS!! I laid down for that little cat nap and slept right through the loudest alarms on my phone. Actually, when I finally did wake up I checked my alarms and apparently I woke up just enough to reset all the alarms (as in erase them) and then fall back asleep. Which I do not remember at all.

But here is the amazing part. By 7:22 am this morning I had gone 19.5 hours without sleep. Which is and isn't a pretty big deal. Not enough to knock you out for a week, but enough to make you pretty effin sleepy. In addition to that I had not slept a whole lot this week (finals week=many nights of no sleep), so we can go ahead and assume that I was tired enough that, if nothing woke me up, I could have slept through the day. THIS COULD HAVE HAPPENED. I had fallen asleep after turning off all my alarms and could have ended up sleeping right through the deadline for my portfolio. Or at least sleeping late enough that I would not be able to finish it in time and still would have failed (that teacher is pretty strict about completeness too). (BTW If I had failed that class I pretty much would have had to change my major because there is almost no way I could finish is, scheduling wise, if I had to take this class over.)

So here comes the miracle. I had set my alarms for 8:00am, 8:01am, and 8:02am. Those are the ones I slept through. At 8:38am I woke up and quickly realized where I was and what still needed to be done, WITH NO ALARM. I got up, started working and got my portfolio done at 12:49pm and turned in (without an ounce of proofreading...oh well) at 12:52pm. 8 minutes before the due time. The 93 frantic minutes I spent typing up my 6 page cover letter (I just wrote it as I thought it. No organization. Nothing. Just like these blogs.) were honestly the SCARIEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME! IN MY LIFE! My entire future weighed on my turning this one assignment, acceptably complete by the 1pm deadline, and I managed with just a fraction of time to spare.

The point is. What if I had slept any later? What if I had slept until 11am or even 9am? There is no way I could have possibly finished my story and my cover letter in time. I promise you. No way possible. I already wrote them as quickly as I could and just barely go it done. For all that could have happened, I could have slept until 2pm and had no chance! It is just such a miracle that I woke up at all, let alone with exactly enough time to rush through the project.

I have to say. My faith just that little bit stronger because of this story. Somebody in the universe was with me today. Looking out for me. And I feel like, more than ever, that I am doing the right thing. That I am supposed to be working towards that Creative Writing degree. I feel like I am doing something right, and today was the universe's (God's) way of showing me. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was the result of a well trained subconscious, which are just as possible, but I think it was something more. It was too perfect. And I am so incredibly grateful. 8:38am guys. Just woke up. In perfect time. Best this ever.