Admit it, nobody really studies in the library

Studying at the library isn’t worth it. For all those with exams or essays, the library is considered to be some sort of a sacred place,where the  Holy Spirit of Enlightenment descends to bring you wisdom. And good marks, of course.

But it’s not true.

Everyone has that “library” friend, who eats, sleeps and watches every Netflix series in there (something they’ll never confess to). The shocker is that  those kind of people still, somehow, miss some of their deadlines, whereas others, struggling at home until 5am still, somehow, manage. And, we all know deep inside, that this phenomenon can be easily explained.

Because nobody actually studies in the library.

So not worth it

First of all, face it: packing and walking to the library takes forever. And it is not an exaggeration. Instead of using your fully equipped study desk at home, you  have to take every single thing you need (which means every thing you own) and fit into your bag, then half  way through, walking in the lovely Scottish weather, you suddenly realise that you forgot your phone charger. That library life doesn’t seem liveable anymore.

still had to walk all the way back to get a charger

The second challenge comes into play when you approach the library, where half of your friends are smoking outside. You might try to pretend that you haven’t noticed them, but the problem is that they will notice you. Subtract those 40 minutes of chatting outside from your study time and 20 more from greeting the rest of your squad inside.

That’s 40 minutes you could have spent actually revising in your warm bed with a mug of tea, rather than chatting shit to acquaintances in the freezing cold.

10 meters further doesn’t count

When, after rambling around the library for 20 minutes, looking for some available space, the place to sit is  found, your “library buddy”, whom you never actually meet outside those walls, will be already calling you to take a smoking break and “have some fresh air”.

Maybe some coffee wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Of course, your social life flourishes in the library, but you want to feel the same thing about your studies. Staying at home tet-a tet with your books helps one better than the other.

The shittiest coffee on Earth, btw

After going through all the obstacles listed above, it would be reasonable to assume that some sort of studying should finally begin. However, it wouldn’t be a proper start without a good Snapchat/Instagram selfie , which necessarily should include a caption of how exhausted you are already and some variant of a “library life” tag. The world needs to know just how much effort you put into your work. And, of course,  how productive you’re going to be today.

Take the library away and you lose the pride, meaning you just get on with your revision, rather than stunting on social media.

Apart from everything mentioned already, let’s not forget about first connecting to the central WiFi, an effort for the ages, which is then used to stalk your new library crush on Facebook. That, plus re-downloading your favourite TV show, because now is definitely the best time to watch it for the 12th time. Maybe, actually,  because 50 minutes more won’t do any harm. Let’s face it – you’re not doing anything you wouldn’t do at home.

productive day at the library

It’s not hard to work out that, all said and done, with the walking, the fighting over seats, and the inevitable coffee breaks, you might as well stay at home in your pyjamas and actually get some work done.