Teenagers or younger children walk with the rhythm of early birds from as early as 5am going to school in many countries, including Kenya. They are old enough to have heard of the early-birds-catching-worms wisdom.
Before they get to their schools, God packages for the early-risers a beautiful day ahead with the songs of various birds and images or events that challenge.
Young people share spaces with adults wearing fresh scents, a spectacle that probably reminds them that mornings beget growth and deserve a life-long embrace. Adults possibly marvel at the early-rise practice of the pupils and retrospectively think they would have launched the habit as teens or earlier.
This early, school gates are teeming with learners competing to go through the turnstiles across the country—and across the world—responding to various teachings linked to starting the day early.
In the era of coronavirus, the security personnel stationed at the school gates have a hectic time reading the temperatures of the learners with the thermo-guns. Tit! Tit! Tit! The gadget beeps endlessly as the learners— primary or secondary school pupils— have their temperatures recorded.
“When we arrive early, one is able to complete the homework that could be pending before the teacher arrives to start the day’s lessons,” a learner volunteers.
In the morning, early-risers enjoy the calmness of nature that is well defined by the singing of birds and firming up of muscles to arrive on schedule. At this time, the songs are more soothing since the surrounding is more tranquil save for the occasional honking of the motor horns.
In the morning you are likely to have the company of people who move the world, among them top athletes who jog on the roads or are directed by their coaches. During this time, some budding athletes could have a chance to run along with the track legends like happened in Kenya’s Rift Valley where a Turbo school student was captured running after elite marathoners.
Apart from sighting icons, beauties such as the sun rise are reserved for those who leave the bed early. Indeed, the Bible warns that those who fold their arms in the morning to sleep a little longer invite the wrath of poverty that stings like bandits. Proverbs 24:33: “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come on you like a thief.”
Those who wake up early share this special moment with top executives, entrepreneurs and innovators who report to their work stations in the wee hours. Some court judges are known to write judgments when everyone has retired from midnight. That is early morning when quiet is plenty.
In the strictest sense, even the so-called night owls whose lighting will be illuminating homes up to 3am are early-risers even if they go to bed when others are waking up.
Starting early allows pupils or professionals to make mistakes and correct them at will; to try a number of times; to test and drop; to read and revise; to imagine; to refine. Their endeavours are news. And it is people this daring who produce masterpieces that fetch top dollar.
When you start early and give self room to make mistakes, it is possible to create because you go ahead of time, especially the indefatigable second hand of the clock that races endlessly. Those who start early don’t bother to watch the hand of the clock, instead the clock runs after them even though they are the most relaxed of workers.
Rising is a phenomenon that leaders and future leaders (namely, young people) can exploit to be different.
Learners who are different don’t cheat in exams, for example. In Kenya, the government spends a fortune on administering national examinations such as the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and its secondary school twin KCSE.
During these examinations, top officials of the Ministry of Education, led by the Cabinet Secretary, wake up early — early birds, again — to monitor how the examination papers are delivered to various centres. Be that as it may, cases of cheating, as low as they have dropped, are still reported. That’s unfortunate what with the reporting to school early.
Why should an early bird with access to the best worms cheat in an examination that their early-rise lifestyle gave them the best opportunity to prepare for and sit in the right frame of mind?
Dear pupil, early birds do not cheat; they do not copy; they don’t discuss grades. They have clarity of mind and can produce the best works of art and science.
Keep waking up early, dear child, to be the best that the Higher Power created you to become.
