Confessions of a Sleepy Girl

Lately—as in since I’ve finished my last masters program—I’ve been sleeping much (?) more…

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Ya’ girl is tired.

Been tired!

But been movin’—literally, metaphorically, allllluhdat!

I’ve been in masters programs from 2016-2018, 2020-2023 & most recently 2023-2025. I have spent the majority of those summers working, in some form or fashion. Despite four years of tuition free education at one institution, I still had to take out loans to literally live—like eat & all that.

In the last nine years, far too many Black people & Palestinians have been murdered, the same facist has taken presidential office not once but twice—emphasis on taken—I’ve moved nine times, successfully sued a landlord, lost my last grandparent & a friend wayyy too soon, lost friends I didn’t expect to lose but pray them all the best (truly) & have fought some serrrrrious battles.

So yeah, ya’ girl is tired.

And what I just detailed isn’t even a fraction of what’s really been going on!

Oh yeah—I also became a licensed & ordained minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can call me Rev., if you like.

I suppose this piece is less for y’all & more for me. I have this desire to get up & at ‘em early in the morning but then I’ll pull a card from The Nap Ministry’s Rest Desk that tells me otherwise.

Today’s card?

I will do less. Watch me thrive. How can you access pleasure, joy & liberation if you are too tired to experience them? Where can you create more space in your life? What can you say no to? Consider what rest has to offer you. It’s time to slow down. It’s time to thrive.

This deck is so loud sometimes! Less? Do less?! If that ain’t anti-capitalist, I don’t know what is! But that’s precisely what the Rest Deck is designed to do—offer 50 practices to resist grind culture.

My journey to full-time employment looks & feels much different than I thought it would. I thought a job would come sooner. I thought there would be more jobs to apply to. And yet, I literally thank God that the quest for full-time employment has not become all-consuming. I really do need to rest. There are many versions of tired, exhausted, fatigued, weary Ryans that didn’t get to sleep in, take a midday nap or decide to not leave the house for the day. These are some of the small things I am learning how to relish again, without guilt. Rest can’t be rushed. Rest isn’t performative either.

Today, I’m trying to shake off the guilt of not getting out of bed until around 11 so I can fully savor the day. The sun is shining, I’m alive & I must remember more than anything else that today, it’s not about doing—it’s about being.

I become more of myself when I rest

Want to get your own Rest Desk? Click here. Craving to learn more about why Rest Is Resistance? Check this out.