You should say: when it was, what you did, why you got up early, and explain how you felt about it.
The model answers below are taken from a members-only video lesson.
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Download the audio track and full transcript of the lesson here:
https://buymeacoffee.com/tracywang/extras
Speaker: Finn
One time I had to get up really early was for a hiking trip with a group of my friends from university.
This happened during a long weekend last autumn. We had planned a day trip to a mountain about two hours away from where we lived, and since the train left very early in the morning, I had to wake up at around 5 a.m.
As soon as I got up, I quickly got ready, packed some snacks and water, and met my friends at the train station. We spent the whole day hiking, taking photos, and enjoying the scenery. The weather was perfect—not too hot and not too cold—and from the top of the mountain we had an amazing view of the surrounding countryside.
The reason I got up so early was that we wanted to make the most of the day. If we had taken a later train, we would have had much less time to explore the area, and we might not have made it back before dark. Since we had been planning the trip for weeks, I didn’t want to miss any part of it.
In terms of how I felt, I was honestly a bit sleepy when my alarm went off. For a few minutes, I was tempted to stay in bed because waking up at 5 a.m. isn’t something I normally do. However, once I got outside and met my friends, I felt excited and full of energy. The trip turned out to be one of the highlights of my semester because it gave me a chance to take a break from my studies and spend quality time with people I enjoy being around.
Looking back, getting up early was completely worth it. Not only did I have a fantastic day, but it also reminded me that sometimes the best experiences start with an alarm clock going off much earlier than you’d like.
Speaker: Blondie
I’m usually the type of person who needs three alarms and a large coffee just to function, but a few months ago, I had to be up at 4:00 AM for an international flight. I was heading off on a solo backpacking trip through Europe, and my flight out of the international terminal was scheduled for 7:30 AM.
Because of the usual airport chaos, I knew I had to be there super early. I remember my alarm going off in the dead of night, and my room was absolutely freezing. I stumbled around in the dark, double-checking that I had my passport, dragging my heavy suitcase down the stairs, and calling an Uber in the freezing cold.
The drive to the airport was so eerie because the highways were completely empty, which you never see in my city. But the second I stepped into the terminal, it was a totally different world—packed with people, bright fluorescent lights, and everyone looking just as sleep-deprived as I was. I grabbed a huge iced latte, checked my bags, and finally collapsed into my seat at the gate just as the first light of dawn was hitting the runway.
When my alarm first rang, I felt this awful mix of exhaustion and sheer panic that I’d forgotten something. But once I was checked in and sitting by the window watching the sunrise over the airplanes, the dread turned into pure excitement. It was this amazing, cinematic feeling of ‘wow, I’m actually doing this.’ The exhaustion didn’t even hit me until I landed in London. But looking back, even though I’m a total night owl, I’m actually really glad I had to experience that early morning rush—it made the start of the whole trip feel like a huge adventure.
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