Two things are hard to come by at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia: parking and study rooms. Availability of study rooms are just as limited as the available parking. Students worry and stress more about finding these two items rather than actually studying or doing school work. Study rooms are always hard to come by but during midterms and finals (AKA: HELL WEEKS), your chances of finding one are less likely than winning the lottery. We all have the same thoughts cross our minds at some point when we begin the treacherous journey of searching for an open study room.
1. "Oh my gosh.. What if they're all already taken?"
As you head to the lib to begin your search, anxiety takes over. You realize that you are probably already too late. You will more than likely be forced to sit in the middle of everyone where you can hear everything and have no room to work. You should have been waiting outside before they ever even opened the library for the day.
2. "Why is everyone looking at me as I walk around?"
You walk past every single room, making sure to fully stare into them to see if someone is really in there. Everyone else looks at you like you are a little lost puppy who is aimlessly searching for their owner.
3. "Do these people even go here?"
There are so many people that you have never seen. You feel like you do not know a single soul in any study room or the entire library. Seriously, this campus is not that big. How is that even possible?
4. "WHY is there only one person in there?!"
You spot a room with a nice, clean, and empty table. Your hopes start to rise. You have finally found an empty study room when suddenly all of your dreams come crashing down. You spot the ONE person who decided they needed a whole study room all to themselves. The only thing worse is when it is only a book bag with no owner to be found.
5. "I wonder if they want company?"
You do not know the person and you're studying something completely different. The thought of asking them if you can share the room with them crosses your mind more than once.
6. "WHY didn't they make more rooms?"
Could they seriously not have fit just a few more rooms into their blueprints when planning to build the study rooms? You feel as there are only a handful of study rooms even in existence.
7. "They're writing on the glass... Bless their hearts."
Oh no.. They have already used the dry erase board and now they have begin to use the glass doors. You feel for them because everyone has been there at some point.
8. "Have I already walked this way? Maybe I should just check again."
You know you have already walked around the whole library and checked every room. You decide to check again just in case you happen to miss one.
9. "Maybe I will just sit outside of them until someone decides to leave."
You think about sitting outside of the rooms until the room becomes vacant. Maybe if they see you outside they will feel bad and hurry up (hahah unlikely).
10. "#BLESSED!! THERE IS AN OPEN ROOM!"
You feel as though your eyes have deceived you. Your excitement starts to build although you try not get too excited. You prepare yourself for the room to really be filled but then all of your dreams come true. You finally found an empty study room. You know that you are truly #blessed. For just a split second, everything is right in the world (until you remember all of the hours of studying you're about to endure).
11. "This room already has Expo markers.. SCORE!"
The tray of the whiteboard is filled with dry erase markers already. It is seriously your lucky day.
12. "Do you think I could just sleep here tonight without anyone noticing?"
Closing time is coming close. You get sad as you realize you will soon have to leave your beloved study room. You wonder if you could somehow manage just to sleep in the room without getting kicked out. You could save time and energy by just staying there while also saving your mental health by not having to redo the whole process over again the next day.