It’s a snowy Sunday afternoon, and I’m sitting with my coffee, textbook and notebook at a small table in the corner of the Student Center. As I try to sit and read pages and pages of a concept that I don’t fully understand, my focus shifts. The frustration and stress of my workload begins to fade as I start noticing people walking by, unaware.

First goes the couple carrying their coffees, smiling and laughing about something the other said. They’re bundled up, ready to brave the blowing snow and wind outside. However, the weather most likely won’t bother them, because they have the company of each other, and if any complaints are made about the weather, it will probably be responded to with a laugh, a funny comment, or yet another string of conversation.

I look next to me and see the girl wrapped up in a book of some sort. She’s been there for a while, and hasn’t moved. God, what a nice feeling of being able to sit and lose yourself in a story, and escape reality for a period of time.

There’s the occasional rushing boy, the pair of girls with coffees, the couple with food in hand, and professor that walk past. I see the girl come in with her friend, and watch as he brushes the snow off her backpack, and she turns and laughs. I watch the girl come in, phone in hand, and look around for the person she’s meeting.

At one point, one of the employees walks past with what must have been her daughter and little granddaughter. The little girl, dressed in what must have been four layers, waddled up to my table and looked up at me. I look down at her, and she has the biggest grin on her face as she raises one hand in a wave. I wave back, and she runs away. I watch as she walks out with her mom, stopping to say hi to other students here and there.

Looking at the time, I realize that I’ve been distracted for two hours and decide to go back to the reading I initially attempted. However, this time around, it’s not as awful because I’m happier and in a better mood. I realized that sometimes, the best cure for stress and frustration is just taking a step back for a while, letting your mind wander.