Am I High Maintenance or Just Self-Aware?

Let’s just get this out of the way: I sleep 10–12 hours a night. I know. Spoiled.

Or… am I?

See, I grew up in a house where dinner PREPARATIONS started at 8pm (or we just ordered in). My mom was a night owl, TV on until midnight, sometimes 2am, living her best life on 4 hours of sleep.

Meanwhile, me? I could never pull an all-nighter. Not in high school. Not in college. Not ever.

When I was a leasing agent in college, we had this two-week stretch every summer called “Turns.” Translation: 14 straight days of 12-hour shifts full of trash-outs, touch-ups, paperwork, and inspections with our extremely Type A (but somehow still loveable) boss breathing down our necks. By the end, I was a zombie. And THEN the day after came sorority recruitment: up at 5am, hair, makeup, heels, plastered smile, strict conversation rules, endless walking, endless talking, endless everything. All after two weeks of manual labor? My body said nope.

My mom was baffled: “Why didn’t you take after me? Who needs sleep?”
But I could not just “push through.” By the end of those weeks, I was overstimulated, overtired, and on the brink of a panic attack (or actually in the middle of one).

And here’s the thing: that pattern followed me into adulthood.

When I taught school, I was the fun, peppy teacher who poured everything into my students. But if I got less than 8 hours of sleep, I felt it instantly. I wasn’t as sharp, not as funny, not as emotionally attuned. I was just a watered-down version of myself.

For years, I asked myself: Why am I like this? Why do I need so much rest? Why do I get so drained from stimulation?

And the answer is simple: I am wired differently.

Fast forward to this month: two Disney trips, a zoo day, team calls, dinners, a baby shower, social events, sleeping at my parents’ (which meant not sleeping). All of it was good, but by the end I felt like a shell of myself.

That’s when I remembered the Suzy Sparkle Equation:
Alone Time + Joyful Activities = My Best Self

So I came home, ran a bath, crawled into bed by 7:30, slept 11 hours, and then took a nap the next day. No shame. Because that’s what I needed to feel like me again.

There was a time I felt guilty about this. Guilty for needing sleep. Guilty for saying no to plans. Guilty for needing more downtime than others. But guilt helps no one.

Now I know better. I am not “high maintenance.” I am self-aware.

I know I need Suzy Time. I know I thrive on rest, stillness, and joy. And I know I am a better mom, partner, friend, leader, and businesswoman when I honor that.

What if instead of shaming yourself for your needs, you honored them? What if the very things you feel “too much” or “too sensitive” about are actually your roadmap to being your fullest, brightest, truest self?

So no, I am not dramatic. I am not lazy. I am not high maintenance.

I am self-aware. And that serves everyone.