I have talked about why I choose to wake up early before. However, here is more nuance and detail on why it has been great for me.
Waking up at 4:30 means that even when I have a 8:30 class or a 9 am job, I would still have time to workout, as well as time to do various things in the morning in general. I don't want to wake up for school or work. Quite frankly, it kinda makes me feel like life sucks. I want to feel like I've already done things and lived my life a bit before school/work. I might spend the time reading, walking, or working on some personal projects. I can also use the time to cook meals that I would pack if I’m wanting to pack meals. Additionally, this extra time and these activities allow me to feel awake and ready by the time my class, job, or whatever the main thing of the day is starts.
I work out just about every single day. It is genuinely very important to me (It's not a hobby, job, nor a chore. It's more like sleeping or eating - an essential and basic aspect of everyday life). However, I know that working out in the day is too difficult to maintain due to the scheduling of other things in my life, whether that is school, work, social activities, or hobbies. As a solution, I can either work out at night or work out in the morning. Working out at night, from my previous experiences, had a tendency to make sleeping much more difficult; it energizes me too much. Moreover, the workout itself isn't as great of an experience nor as effective, as my body is more tired at night. Working out in the morning just makes sense. The way it energizes me is fantastic at that time of the day. The way it feels to successfully complete something difficult right at the beginning of the day is awesome. Similar to the point #1, doing something that I consider as essential for myself, before school/work, makes me feel like life is great.
I find it to be much easier and much more natural to be productive and efficient during the morning. Therefore, as I have mentioned in earlier posts, being up early allows me to get more done and feel better in the same amount of waking hours. That is just basic math and simple rationale.
Watching the sunrise is still a very rewarding experience for me. I desperately want to feel like life is beautiful and this is one of the simple activities that brings me that feeling. Even when the weather isn't great and the sunrise isn't really visible, it is still amazing to watch the darkness fade and the light arrive.
Lastly, as a sidenote, I don't always have to get up at 4:30 exactly. I would get up a bit later if the sunrise is later and work/school/commitments in general started later. In fact, that would be nice because I would be more likely to be able to watch the sunset - another experience that makes life feel beautiful. At the end of the day, it is not about what I do but what I get out of the things that I do. In other words, I do everything that I do is because I get enough out of it for it to be the most worthwhile way to spend the amount of time and effort I put in.