I came back from spring break last week and, in true college fashion, was welcomed back with an overwhelming pile of work that needed to be done. With exams to study for, papers to write, and a speech that needed to be prepared, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the library. Spending time in a place so quiet, you tend to notice a lot more than usual.

1. When the silence of the library isn’t so silent anymore.

The library is a building on college campuses that usually provides a sense of reassurance that a quiet environment will always be there to welcome you as you walk through the doors. However, there’s always that one group of girls sitting in the back of the library chattering away at a volume that makes me feel like I’m at a restaurant trying to be heard over the commotion of the dinner rush. Unless I’m just out of the loop and that particular location makes it impossible to hear the conversation, I don’t really think this should be a common occurrence.

2. When you miss out on daylight.

You want to go to the library as early as possible so you can finish your work and enjoy the beautiful sunny day outside. Unfortunately, not everything goes as planned. You have trouble solving that one math problem, the printer breaks while you’re trying to print out your outline or you just can’t seem to motivate yourself enough to get everything done in a timely fashion. You end up spending more time than what you intended in the library and walk outside into pitch black night. Maybe next time?

3. Doing normal human things actually makes you everyone’s enemy.

The library is a quiet place and mostly everyone understands and can respect that simple fact. But when you’ve got to sneeze, you’ve got to sneeze, no matter how loud it is. Why the annoyed faces, guys?

4. When the silence is too loud.

It can be hard reading that boring Western Civilization book with distracting noise all around us. Usually the library solves that problem but sometimes, it can also pose a new problem; too much silence. Music is usually everyone’s savior when it comes to this, but then that means we’re right back to where we started, having distracting noise. Remind me again why we came to the library?

5. When your memory betrays you.

We’ve all done it. You pack your bag with all of your assignments, head to the library, get all situated and ready to work, and then you realize you forgot something you need back in your dorm. So what do you do? You repack your bag, go back to your dorm to retrieve the forgotten annoyance, and pray that the security guard sitting in the lobby doesn’t give you that “you’re an idiot” look as you walk past him for the millionth time in a span of 10 minutes.

6. Studying is actually naptime.

When you have a lot of work to get done and not enough time in the day to do it, you seem to forget about the existence of your dorm, more specifically the bed that sits in the corner of it waiting for you. So the occasional head nod or eye droop may periodically sneak its way into your routine. Just don’t be the culprit behind the small puddle of drool on the table.

7. When your unassigned assigned seat is actually unassigned.

The assigned seating when we were younger was somewhat of a curse; we either got put next to our best friend or our worst enemy (hey, that crayon was my favorite and I know he stole it from me). In any way, that mindset has been carried with us up until college. We’re old enough that we don’t actually have assigned seats and yet, when you turn that corner and see someone occupying “your spot” at the window, you get a little annoyed. I mean, it’s not your seat, but it’s still your seat, you know?

8. When answering a text takes 30 minutes.

Studying is such a drag. We tend to want to minimize the amount of distractions we take with us to the library often forgetting that the biggest one of them all is sitting right in our pockets. A text? Well this is obviously an invite to answer the text, go on Instagram, take a few Snapchats for your story; anything but study. Woops.

9. Long romantic walks to the printer.

There are only so many printers to send your paper to. The librarian tries to give you as many options as possible so you don’t have a far walk and yet, your seat still ends up being the farthest from any machine in the building. Yeah I walked by here a second ago. I’d love to stay and listen to you judge the tenth walk I’ve made past you, but I have to go get my stuff before someone takes it along with their papers.

10. When you’re finally released from jail… or when you finally escape.

Long hours in the library can finally be met by the satisfying feeling of packing up your stuff and heading back to your dorm. You’ve gotten a lot done and that means your sentence is over. Time to relax and watch that new episode of The Walking Dead that you missed. Other times, you’ve just made no progress and have decided that it’s time to throw in the towel and make an early escape. Go ahead, you tried your best, but just remember that assignment isn’t going to do itself.

The library is definitely an interesting place. What happens while you’re there?