Being in a college library is an adventure in itself. Being so quiet and silent, the imagination is free to roam. Coming up with ideas and fancies is delightfully easy, and brings wonders to the ego. I rarely come to the library to study, but to think, write, and hide. Being as vast and avoided as it is, it is easy to get some alone time with others thinking that I am actually studying. (I hope no one I know reads this or I am going to have to find somewhere else to hide.) Being holed up in a dorm room is not generally my cup of tea, and I need the change in scenery if I don’t want to go bat shit crazy.
In my hometown, I didn’t live anywhere close to the library. I could have ridden the bus, but really creepy people who don’t have showers ride the bus. Plus, I didn’t usually have a lot of pocket change on me, and my mother was one of those semi-protective parents. She would have wanted to go, thus taking out the library, or wanted one of my friends to go with me. Unfortunately, all my friends live unreasonably far from me making it near impossible to get together and go to the library. College fixed that for me.
Living on campus does have its ups and downs. My roommate, for example, I am okay with my about 50% of the time. The rest, I kind of wish she would go away and find that apartment she has said that she was looking for. The major thing that gets on my nerves is the way she eats. She eats like someone making out. It’s disgusting to listen to and has put me off of various meals. The library allows me to get away from her without being too rude, and gives me the chance to get my stomach settled.
I have found that it is easier to write when I am in a public place. I get less distracted and stay more focused. No going onto all the sites I like to procrastinate on, complete focus on writing. Along with this is the thinking, I can think a lot better when I don’t have people singing off-key right next door. Oh you glorious library, I bless the person who first thought you up!
However there is a downside to libraries as shown in Doctor Who. In a certain episode of Doctor Who, the Doctor and Donna explore the biggest library in the universe. This library takes up a whole planet, but when they get there, no one is around. As they explore, they find that little aliens that eat living things rather quickly are inhabiting the library because they believe it to be their ‘forest’. After watching this episode, I was a little leery of entering a library for some time. I knew logically that this couldn’t happen in my library, but the quiet does allow my imagination to roam and that is a rather scary thought.
Plus, during a zombie apocalypse, there isn’t really anything to use to defend yourself. There are plenty of places to hide, but there are no real weapons. Sure you could use the books, but I took an oath never to harm a book intentionally. Zombies would be able to starve the survivors out, or corner them. The slim aisles may seem like a good defensive position, but that is only until the zombies topple the book shelves on top of you. Ouch.
Currently I am being held hostage in this library. Not by zombies or tiny aliens, but by the weather. I do hope this rain ends soon, it doesn’t sound at all nice to walk through.
Rough Draft 