Most of us have sat in the library for hours drinking coffee while studying for an exam we thought we were doomed to fail last week when suddenly we have to pee. Crap, do we pack everything up and take it with us risking losing our seat and having to hunt for a new one? That’s too much of a hassle. Do we leave everything unguarded for a few minutes of necessary relief? It’ll only be for a few minutes, right? Do we ask a the stranger closest to us if they can key an eye on our computer and belongings? Well, that’s a tough question. What makes us think that stranger who is just trying to write an essay due in one hour will watch our things? And not take our things themselves? Imagine this, there are ten people around you, how do you pick which one is most trustworthy? Do you base it off of their skin color, gender, clothes, hair, or some other physical character that may or may not play a factor when it comes to their character?

The other day I was wandering the second floor of the library looking for a seat when I finally found a girl putting her laptop into her backpack. I quickly sat down and took the newly vacant spot. She came back a few minutes later, sat her backpack down across from me, and asked me to keep an eye on it for her while she ran to Shafer to eat with a friend. I told her I would keep an eye on it, I mean it was across from me so what else could I do? She took my number and texted me so if I had to leave I could let her know, but what made her think I was trustworthy enough for her to leave her entire backpack with me? Was it how I was dressed? Legging, white shoes, and a tee shirt. Was it my hair? Blonde and straight. We had never spoken before, she had no idea who I was, but for some reason, she was comfortable enough to leave her bag with me. Her items were safe with me, but what if she asked someone else to watch them and they weren’t safe with that person?

Most often if you ask someone to keep an eye on your belongings, they will. They will look up from their computers or papers long enough to peek at your things and the surrounding area. But here comes the hard part, what happens if someone steals your backpack or laptop? Who is to blame? The person you asked to watch your things? The person who ran off with it? Or are you? Did you not pick someone who was trustworthy enough? The thing is, you are to blame. You put your trust in someone else who is busy doing their own thing and didn’t look up and the exact second someone snatched your computer. If I turn around right now, while in the library, I will find at least one computer unattended to (I just turned around and in fact, a laptop surrounded by papers is sat behind me, without the owner.) If I were to turn around, grab the computer, and walk off, would anyone stop me? Would anyone tackle me or grab my shoulder and demand I leave the computer where I found it, would it be the same person the owner of the computer asked to watch their things? We hope the answer is yes, but the answer isn’t always yes. Again, we can’t blindly trust anyone and everyone like our grandparents have talked about when they grew up. How the world wasn’t the same back then. How no one worried about having to walk home from a friend’s house at night.