With the leaves on the mountain change from green to yellow, it’s about that time of year that mid semester blues kick in. Suddenly, “club lib” becomes the hot spot around campus and getting through mid terms becomes the highest priority. After spending one long night in the library, I realized that the library is just like going to Toads.
Walking into the library, you make your grand entrance in the appropriate club attire, an oversized sweater, leggings and comfortable Uggs slippers. Just like entering Toads, it doesn’t take long for you to blend in with the crowd, being that everyone is dressed in similar outfits. After walking down the long “catwalk,” passing by the onlookers staring over their computers, you enter the main dance floor, otherwise known at the general study area. It’s there that one makes the rounds through the club looking for their friends, hoping to find their perfect study spot.
As you walk, you hopelessly look into the study rooms hoping to find an in to the exclusive party inside. For those of us who aren’t 21 yet, it’s reminiscent of looking for someone to get you a drink at the bar. Its never easy, but you eventually connect with the person who will make it happen. Just like when your girlfriends crowd around you on the dance floor, you unload the book from your backpack claiming that desk as yours for the night.
About midway through studying, you start to get bored of the library, just like you start to get bored of Toads around 11:45. Knowing that it’s too early to bail, you decided to take a little break and stretch your legs. Aimlessly wandering around the library, you take the long trek to the bathroom where girls are loudly chattering away on their phones, just like in the back jungle bar. After coming out of the stall, you check your appearance in the mirror and decided you want to venture out to the upper library, also known at the Lily Pad.
With limited seated, the upper library has a more relaxed feel as some study goers walk around visiting friends and stopping every once in a while to up their sugar high with candy from the café. Despite the fact that it is more relaxed and smaller, the upper part of “club lib” loses its novelty and you once again make the long journey down the stairs and back to your spot in the library.
After hours of studying, you finally leave “club lib” the same way you exit Toads, dazed and confused. Wrapped up in knowledge, and trying not to fall asleep from total exhaustion, you make your way down dorm road and reward yourself for making smart decisions, by investing in a Mondo’s wrap and a Ratt cookie.