A few days ago, I walked into the library after my classes were over for the day to start my homework. Because my classes end later in the afternoon, I got to the library around the busiest time of day. It was around 3:30 p.m. and there were no empty seats in sight. I checked the first and third floors, then went down to the second as a last resort. As I was searching for a seat to sit in, I saw that every place was occupied, from the round tables to the overly large booths that are about as big as my regulation, twin extra-long mattress in my dorm.
Just as I was losing hope of finding a place to sit, I found a lone chair with the desk arm attachment near the wall of single desks on the second floor. As soon as I saw it, I practically ran over and took it for myself. Finally, when I sat down, I noticed a dried coffee stain on the desk attachment. It looked like it had been there for several hours, maybe even a day or two. For some reason, when I looked at it, I couldn’t help but wonder who spilled that lone drop of coffee onto the desk.
I couldn’t help but wonder what drove them to be drinking coffee (as we all do), and what specifically caused them to do so. Were they having a difficult day? Were they working on five hours of sleep or less like most of us do? Were they working on a project or an essay? Or, maybe were they just sitting back in the chair and enjoying that cup of Pierce coffee in those “too small” eight ounce cups? I feel like that last option is very unlikely (besides the Pierce coffee statement) considering where they were.
In any case, whatever they were doing, they needed a cup of coffee. That coffee stain I saw reminded me of how much everyone here works to do the best that they can, and even though I don’t drink coffee (shocker, right?), I’ve come to appreciate the work that comes along with it.
