How I survived twelve hours in Stroz

Ah, Strozier. The hub of our campus, and easily the most frequented library. Most weeks of the year, Stroz is packed from sun up to sun down, and finals week is no exception. I honestly never thought I’d end up spending 12 hours of my time anywhere that wasn’t my bed, but I digress.

Stage 1: Get prepared (6:00 PM)

When embarking on this journey you would have thought I had it all planned out. Scheduled bathroom breaks, where I would plot myself during this study sesh, and of course bring snacks and plenty of caffeine to stay awake.

I. Did. Not. Plan. Ahead.

I was hungry instantly and contemplated whether or not I needed to immediately abort mission and go to Publix and stock up. Too late already here must persevere.

Stage 2: Why does everyone socialize in the library? (9:00 PM)

I mean come on — aren’t we meant to be studying? Why are these girls gossiping right now and I swear this kid is trying to start up Club Stroz with how loud his music is playing.

Note to self: Bring ear plugs in the future.

Stage 3: Focus you can do this (12:30 AM)

Though Strozier is indeed a library, I’ve honestly never been there between the hours of 8 PM and midnight and gotten a sufficient amount of work done. There’s just simply too much going on- it’s more like a social gathering hole than anything. Stroz is pretty obnoxious until about 2 AM, and then the chaos quiets down.

Stage 4: Say goodbye to the world (2:45 AM)

Once 3:30 AM hit and it became silent, it was smooth sailing. No one was there to bother me about watching their stuff and I didn’t have to ask anyone to watch mine. There was no line for the bathroom and I got my Starbucks order in 3 minutes, which has to be some sort of record.

Stage 5: I want to go home (3:50 AM)

Of course no one wants to be in the library for this long, it’s eire and quiet but at least there are still enough people here you don’t feel like you’re in the middle of The Walking Dead. I want to leave and just go to bed but walking to the parking garage is such a hard no at this hour. I’m trying to stay motivated to stay until 6 when the sun gets up. Surprisingly this did help me focus since I was legit going NO WHERE.

Hashtag blessed we go to a university with a library open 24 hours a day. Hallelujah, FSU.

Stage 6: The delusion hits

At this point, I couldn’t think straight. Once 5AM hit I had been up for nearly 24 hours straight and expecting my brain to function at full capacity was asking too much. Was I actually obtaining information, who knows.

There were only two other students in the same area as me and I definitely started having day dreams of us being targeted and attacked in Stroz.

I honestly wanted to ask my international affairs professor why all this work was necessary. Why are you doing this to me and every other international relations major at FSU? Is this really worth my sanity right now??

Stage 7: FREEDOM (6:00 AM)

I feel dizzy and dazed, which might be the sleep deprivation, but it could also be the sweet, sweet taste of freedom.

Honestly, if you’re thinking of doing a library marathon, I wouldn’t try it. You might go insane, but you’ll get work done and that’s all that counts, right?

And now I get to go home, shower, brush my teeth, and go to sleep *semi* content with my *achievement*.

 

@kamijthomas