Imagine you are on the quiet floor of the library, silently and diligently engrossed in your studies, when all of sudden, the individual seated next to you begins to munch away on their afternoon snack.
You adjust in your seat and rub your hands together, trying to regain your focus. But with every line typed or single number inscribed, a clear and distinct crunch interrupts your peaceful focus and slowly becomes the only audible noise you hear.
But nonetheless, at one time or another, we have all been in the shoes of the one eating in the library, whether it be a quick snack in the café, dinner on-the-go, or the day’s first meal between classes while binging in an hour study session.
After many experiences holding position as “the muncher” and experiencing firsthand the awkward glares and unspoken judgments, I have compiled 10 valuable tips for others suffering the same fate.
1. Check the area.
Scope it out before pulling out your snack. Choose a seat where there aren't many people around, so your disruption affects the minimal amount.
2. Chew often and soften.
Do not simply inhale the food, because that isn’t good for you body, and if this is one of those moments during your hectic day to sit down and enjoy, chew your food. However, avoid monstrous chomps and settle for little munches. Allow the nourishment to soften before really taking the plunge so that your clamor is muffled.
3. If there's no getting around it, and you’re about to make the “crunch,” be proud and make it loud.
This is your stride of pride, your moment to own it. You are participating in the all-important act of survival: the consumption of food. The one god-given right that is denied to so many, so take delight in this small moment.
4. However, if you’re a private person, most libraries have cell phone booths that you could occupy whilst finishing your food,
There's nothing wrong with being an individual who prefers to keep your business to yourself. Or maybe you just want to proudly crunch your bag of cereal or chips. If such is the case, then there is yet another option. Most libraries have a designated section that most individuals use to take and make phone calls. But you, my friend, can be different from the masses, and make this booth for calls to a sanctuary of sustenance.
5. The buddy system.
Phone a friend! You are stronger in numbers, and with a companion at your side, you can laugh together and take the awkward gawks and scowling gazes as a team.
6. One and done with the packaging.
Make as much noise as needed for a short period of time so that none will need to be made later.
7. Switch positions on the daily.
There are always those groups of people who you see in the library, day after day, that all have similar schedules to you. Keep them on their toes and move your seating every day. That way, you can cycle a nuisance to a new crowd each day. Conquer the library and find that personal place.
8. Finding that “personal palace.”
However, there may come a day where you stumble upon that “perfect spot.” Where there isn’t copious amounts of other library-goers, a place where you feel comfortable and can relax a bit after a strenuous day. A section with superb WiFi and other technology-friendly resources. Here, you can open your snack, quick dinner, or lunch, and dine without the burden of being uncomfortable.
9. Silent but delicious.
It’s not you, it’s the food. If it comes to a point where something needs to change in the volume of your chewing, break up with your old snack and swap it out with something “silent but delicious.” Say, grapes, or even gummy bears that munch silently.
10 . Know your limitations.
Lastly, be actively aware that you are, in fact, in a library, and therefore, you are limited in how lurid your volume becomes.
When it comes down to the honest truth, eating in the library is a difficult and uncomfortable process that perhaps should be avoided all together. Then again, who has time for a sit-down dinner when you’re in college, anyway? So eat those Cheetos and get that paper done, we have faith in you!
