20 Very Real Struggles Of Being The Punctual Friend

In groups of friends, it is impossible to get to the same place at the same time. As the size of the group increases, the chance of missing each other in traffic only gets larger. If you’re the kind of person that’s always running late, the chances are that you always arrive just as things are getting going, just as the party gets really exciting.

If you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum, though, things aren’t always as fun. Being endlessly punctual might be great for your professional life but in social gatherings things can get a little awkward. If you’re an awkward early bird, we know what it’s like and we feel your pain. For those not in the know, behold: The very real struggles of the ever-punctual.

Getting To The Airport Before It’s Open

Everyone knows that you have to get to the airport two hours before your flight. For you, though, things are a little different and if you aren’t parked outside at least 4 hours before takeoff, you have an anxiety attack. It’s just you and the very tired airport staff.

Awkwardly Hanging Out In Your Car

You stress about getting to appointments on time so much that you normally arrive at least half an hour early. Cue hours spent hanging around in your car, waiting for everyone else to catch up. At least there’s the radio.

Getting To Class Early And Catching Up On Your Reading

Missing class isn’t even an option for you; you get to lessons even before your teacher and use the free time to catch up on your reading. War and Peace isn’t even that long, anyway.

Being The Envy Of Everyone Else In A Rush

You cruise in your car at just under the speed limit and feel guilty when you hold up someone in a rush. You just don’t get what running late feels like and your friends hate you for it.

Forcing Yourself To Sleep Late

Your body responds to time with such military precision that on days off, you have to force yourself to switch off and forgo the early starts. You lie in your bed for an extra hour before you can’t take it anymore.

Panicking You’re Late And Still Arriving Early

The very rare occasion in which you convince yourself that you’re running late is like fresh hell. You power walk past the crowd, trip up a few times and still arrive 15 minutes before everyone else.

Purposefully Leaving Late And Still Avoiding The Rush

On some days, you like to shake things up and decide suddenly to turn up late. You leave the house a whole 20 minutes later than normal and yet somehow, don’t get caught in any traffic. You’re still the first to arrive, naturally.

Getting To The Club With The Bouncers

You’ve never had to pay to get into a club and you arrive so early to some that you actually start to socialize with the bouncers. Empty clubs are like your second home.

Spending Hours Sitting On Your Bed In Anticipation

No matter how late you start getting ready, you always have to wait for your ride to pick you up. You average an extra 15 minutes spent waiting on your bed, anticipating the late arrival of your friends.

Burying The Rage You Feel Towards Your Late Friends

Although you’re used to other people being late, from time to time, you slip into bouts of rage. When your friends arrive late and ask you what’s wrong, you have to grit your teeth and clench your fists for fear of being called crazy.

The Social Awkwardness Of Being The Early Friend

When you’re the prompt one of your friendship group, you face the judging eyes of the general public. Sitting alone in a restaurant might be okay the first time, but when it happens every week, it starts to get a little humiliating.

Watching Bad Morning TV Because You’re So Early

No matter how hard you try, you’re always ready to leave for work half an hour early. You spend your mornings catching up on the latest reality TV and because of your promptness, you’ve started to get addicted to it.

Ordering For Your Friends Because You’re The First There

You’re so reliable that your friends have started to order their drinks through you. Before you even arrive to a restaurant, you have a list of orders as long as your arm and at this point, you’re resigned to look like an alcoholic.

Being Drunk By The Time Everyone Arrives

You while away the time by ordering drinks for yourself and sometimes you’re made to wait so long that your night is over before anyone else has even arrived.

Having To Exist In Other People’s Time

You spend most of your time stifling your rage at other people’s terrible time keeping. When someone says 3.00pm, you’re made to feel stupid for thinking that you’re actually meeting at 3.00pm, instead of 3.30pm.

Counting All The Hours You Have Wasted

One of your favorite games to play whilst you wait is counting up all of the hours you have wasted hanging around for others to arrive. Thinking of all of the other things you could have been doing often brings you to tears.

Getting In A Sweat And Still Being Early

When you do think that you’re running late, you break into a jog to make up time. On most occasions, you arrive early, sweaty and flustered only to wait another 15 minutes for your late, perfectly composed friend.

Exploding At The Ignorance Of Late People

Your late friends have no idea of the kind of furious rage you feel when you really think about their lateness. You can’t even begin to fathom why other people are so bad at time keeping and when you really think about it, you lose all hope in mankind.

Passive Agressively Texting Your Late Friends

On the rare occasion that your rage gets the better of you, you let it out through passive aggressive texting. Your friends never pick up on the hint and you’re just left feeling bitter and alone.

Awkwardly Loitering Outside Of Bars

You’ve spent so much time standing outside of bars waiting for your friends that it’s started to get really awkward. You convince yourself next time to show up an hour late but you know that you’re not fooling anybody.