On most occasions, the library is a beautiful place. It’s full of books and knowledge; it’s the perfect quiet place for a nerd like myself to escape when I need to get work done -- or to just escape, period. But during finals, something changes. Maybe it’s the impending doom of having to take an exam the next day, but the energy in the library goes from calming to anxiety-inducing in less than 24 hours post-LDOC. But it’s more than the lack of enthusiasm. There is just so much about the library during the last two weeks of the semester that I find to be dreadful.
First, you have to find a way there. If you live on campus, you have to make the trek, usually uphill, in order to sit in a chair and hate yourself and your exams for several hours. And if you live off-campus, you have to drive and find a place to park; and here’s a hint: there is no parking!
But, if you make through the library doors, you’ll immediately realize something: you can’t talk. The quiet that you once found peaceful suddenly feels restricting. You think to yourself, “How is anyone going to hear my witty commentary about the boy’s outfit sitting across the way? Or about how much I loathe studying about Poland?”
No worries, though, because you have 25 minutes of seat-searching ahead of you to get used to the silence -- and by silence, I mean the sound of your boots clicking against the ground as you fend off angry looks from your seated peers. You'll wonder where all of these people came from and why they've suddenly decided to encroach on your happy study space. Don't they know this is basically your second home?
But eventually, you’ll find yourself a nice, cozy cubicle - four floors from where you started -- to hunker down in. You’ll spread out your things, you’ll feel good about how the night is going to go -- and that’s when you’ll hear the snoring boy in the cubicle next to you. The girl on the other side will start smacking her gum. You’ll be able to smell the mushrooms and cheese wafting off the pizza from the girl next to her. The guy behind you will start loudly crunching his ice -- probably watching "The Office" instead of studying -- and you’ll wonder why he just doesn’t go home. But these people you’re surrounded by are all strangers, so you have to pretend like it’s OK.
You’ll put on your sweatshirt, only to realize it’s too hot. And fifteen minutes later, you’ll try again because you’re too cold. You’ll think to yourself, “Who controls the temperature in this building?”
The chair you’re sitting in is probably uncomfortable -- and you’ll wish you were sitting in your bed instead. You’ll search your backpack for headphones, only to realize you left them at home.
And after you complain about all of this and contemplate returning home for your headphones -- because you can’t bear to sit here for the next five hours without Justin Bieber to motivate you -- you realize you’ve neglected to do any actual work.And your final is in 12 hours.
