“Where do you like to study?”
This common question always seems to receive a common answer.
Most people will say they like to study in the library or a coffee shop. Mostly because those types of places were created for people to do quiet, reflective things in them.
If you ask me where my favorite study spot is I’d probably just say my room, because it is a personal space for me. I have everything I need in there, and I don’t have to leave unless I need to go to the bathroom.
When I asked Brylee Williams, a junior digital media communications major, she said the UBS Television Studio on the second floor of Jennings.
Williams first discovered the room during Welcome Week when she was given a tour of Union’s campus. Being that she is passionate about film and storytelling, the room immediately piqued her interest.
“It was kind of one of the things that sold me on Union because I was coming in as a DMC major and my lifelong dream has been to work in the movie and television industry,” Williams said. “I have wanted to be a writer probably since I was like eight years old.”
As a child, Williams would use her dolls to create stop-motion films. She would create a script, design costumes and make a set for her films. The studio reminds her of what she wants to do and who she wants to be in the future. She uses this room to develop story ideas, scripts or group photography projects.
Williams does not come to study in this room often.
“I think that’s why it’s such a sacred study spot for me. It’s kind of reserved for my really important projects that I really want to dedicate a lot of time and thought into,” Williams said.
The TV studio is comfortable for Williams because she is familiar with it and it reminds her of what she wants to do when she finds a career. However, she admitted that she sometimes feels small in the space.
“It can make me feel small in both a physical sense and a mental sense,” Williams said. “It does help me to stay focused on my goals and what I’d like to do with my career and encourages me to work hard and make better work because I want to be able to stay in an environment like this after graduation.”
Emily Baker, a sophomore digital media communications major, enjoys studying in the family study room in the library.
Baker first discovered the room during her first semester at Union, nestled between two bookshelves. This room isn’t a conventional study space. It is filled with children’s books, small toys and objects that can entertain a child.
Baker explained that during the height of stress and delirium from finals, she and her friends frequent the place. They go there not just to study but to interact with the room. Baker recalled a memorable moment from her freshman year: Baker and one of her friends were studying in the room during finals week when they decided to take a study break and read some of the children’s books aloud in the room.
“So, I kind of just started reading it in a really goofy voice and for some reason, we just thought that was the funniest thing ever and we literally could not stop laughing.”
It became evident that the space she was in created a lighthearted environment. Being able to interact with the objects in the room allowed her to think about more than just the stress of studying and focus on things that bring her happiness.
“I guess for me when I read children’s books, it does make me feel nostalgic and it does give me a little sense of happiness. I have to remind myself I have free will; nobody is stopping me from reading a children’s book and enjoying myself.”
Baker recognized that if she were in any other room in the library, she would have had a completely different experience.
“All the other study rooms are great, but you’re in them so much sometimes that you see the same four walls and you see the same window and you see the same whiteboard and you see the same table and chairs.”
At the end of the week, after all of my classes were finished, the only thing left to do was study. I took this as an opportunity to experience the rooms for myself.
I first sat in the TV studio. Williams was right. The room can make you physically feel small. It is a pretty big room with high ceilings, and it’s really dark. If you look up you can see wires and hanging black equipment (I am not sure what any of it does). It can be a little creepy, but the emptiness of the room is also slightly calming. Despite this not being a place that I can see myself working in, I still found some enjoyment in it (mostly because I had it all to myself).
Then, I tried out the family room in the library. This one was probably my favorite spot. When I arrived at the room the lights were off and it was empty. The space took me by surprise — I didn’t expect so many children’s books to be in there (I saw a few that interested me that I might read later). I sat my stuff down at a table furthest to the back and started typing away, enjoying the room’s nostalgia. It reminded me of my childhood, back when my mom made an at-home library in our apartment. We used to sit there all the time, in our colorful chairs at our colorful table, to color and draw.
After observing each study room, I realized that not everyone will appreciate a space in the same way. Someone can enjoy a space for one reason and someone else can dislike it for another. This isn’t a bad thing. We are attracted to different rooms for different reasons and how comfortable we feel in a space is largely due to our experiences with elements of a space. I will probably never appreciate the TV studio the way Williams does, but at least now I know some new places to go when I want to get out of my room.
