Greetings from the library! I officially moved in a few weeks ago – I keep my bed in the old stacks, put up a curtain with a floral print and redecorated the bathroom on the third floor with a cute duck theme. I decided to designate the Welles-Brown Room as the family room, add a TV for weekend family movie nights and put up a few photographs of summer trips to the beach and my brother’s fifth- grade graduation. As a final touch, I opted to host dinner parties in Hawkins-Carlson.
I wish that were true because that would make my life so much more convenient.
My freshman year is a little bit of a blur, and I can’t seem to remember studying at all, for any test. That is, except for chemistry, but I really try to forget about that silly decision I made during my first semester. However, I came back to UR this fall and, suddenly, I realized I had ridiculous amounts of work to do. I started stopping by the library in between classes and spending a couple hours every few days in the PRR, just to keep up with my work.
Soon, I became hooked. It was like an addiction. When I wasn’t in the library, I couldn’t get anything done at all. I began to develop my attachment to different areas in the library, finally settling on the room behind the computers on the first floor. Occasionally, I would mix it up and lounge in the Hawkins-Carlson room as I read a supplemental reading or two for my psychology class. The comfy chairs by the circulation desk were always an option and, if I could handle the heat, I would venture up to “the sauna,” also known as the PRR. Leaving my room in Phase in the morning was a huge production because I knew I would not be returning until at least midnight or 1 a.m.
I have been told that the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. But this wasn’t a bad thing – I really began to make Rush Rhees my second home. I have finally and truly accepted that I legitimately enjoy spending time in the library! And I don’t just study there – some of my prime socializing occurs when I enter the library. Now, I have developed my “library gang” – a core group of library friends whom I can count on to keep me company in the late hours of the evening. When I go to compulsively check my e-mail if I can’t focus on my work, I can be sure to spot at least one of the gang. We share a nice laugh, perhaps take a leisurely stroll to Starbucks and then return to our respective dwellings. The atrium of Rush Rhees is a great spot to “accidentally” bump into friends (they undoubtedly will show up eventually) and, when the A-stacks are empty, the best stories are shared. Sometimes I just go to the library in the hopes of spotting a long-lost friend or meeting up with someone that I had wanted to call anyway – and they are usually there.
There is no longer a question of what I will do or where I will end up after my classes are over each day – I will unquestionably be up for a little Rush Rhees fun. So maybe I do a little more socializing than I do studying from time to time, but in the world of UR and overachieving students, it’s hard to make time to see friends and alleviate the constant stress that seems to emanate week after week. I have some of my most enjoyable social times of the week in the library and, honestly, I’m okay with that. Sometimes I study, too.
Friedlander is a member of the class of 2010.
