• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

You are here: Home / Life / Academics / The Cheater: Straying Away from My Favorite Library

The Cheater: Straying Away from My Favorite Library

July 7, 2015 //  by Dallas Simms

Shares128FacebookTweet

We sat next to each other in our film lecture and giggled during the awkward silences when it became clear no one had done the readings. Each time we exchanged glances when the professor’s voice cracked, it became clearer friendship with my classmate, Sophie, was on the horizon.

During lecture one day, our professor announced we needed to get into pairs to make a PowerPoint presentation for the class. Sophie and I locked eyes and, without speaking, agreed to be partners. As we left class that day, she told me to meet her at the library the next night to begin working on our project. I agreed, but as soon as we parted, my eyes grew wide in worry.

Wait, which library did we agree upon? If she had the “other” library in mind, our friendship would be over.

Among the plethora of libraries at the University of Virginia, there are two that tower above the rest in popularity: Alderman and Clemons. In effect, there are two types of students at the UVA — the unique intellectuals who study at Alderman and their more relaxed counterparts who prefer Clemons.

I’m an Alderman student all the way. Its historic charm and perfectly blended smell of coffee and old books meets me every time I ascend its stone stairs. During every precious visit to Alderman, I buy a coffee and a chocolate chip cookie, find a comfortable maroon leather chair and throw myself into my studies.

Instinctively, I showed up the following night at my second home, Alderman, in hopes of seeing Sophie. I wandered through all five floors of the marvelous maze of a library in search of her, but she was nowhere in sight. I rolled my eyes — she must have chosen Clemons.

She had assumed I was a Clemons student. I thought she was the Alderman type. Clearly, we don’t know each other as well as we thought. How are we going to work together on this project? I sauntered out into the cold night and realized what I had to do next. It was time. I had to cheat on Alderman Library.

As I nervously walked over to “the other” library, I immediately regretted my decision. Sitting in a charming bathroom stall in Alderman and working by myself on the PowerPoint would be better than venturing into the uninviting crannies of Clemons. While I reluctantly entered the doorway, I realized why I hated this place so much. The rectangular layout, closed-off study spaces and tan walls remind me of a corporate office building full of cubicles and stressed employees. Appealing, right?

I tiptoed downstairs and found a sea of complete strangers. My school is this big? Who were all of these people? I missed the regular crowd at Alderman. There’s the girl with the bright red hair who always works on an English paper while sipping on a chai tea latte. Then there’s the guy with the green beanie who always snacks on a Clif Bar. Where were my people?

As I stared in utter despair, I spotted a wooden chair in the back corner where my partner sat. Flashbacks to the inviting, soft chairs in Alderman filled my mind, but I tried to keep my disappointment to myself. After an hour of work, I confessed my attention span seems to be shortened. When she asked why, I told her that my heart can only be with one library: Alderman. Sophie begins laughing and said she can’t concentrate at Alderman and that Clemons is her only source of inspiration.

After the laughing subsided, I worriedly looked at her and ask, “Well, what should we do?”

She grabbed my hand, told me to close my eyes, and guided me back upstairs and out into the frigid air. After a few minutes of walking, we stopped suddenly. She grasped my hand even tighter and told me to open my eyes.

I smiled at her cleverness when I realized what stood before us. We took a deep breath and marched together into the mysterious third library, Clark, leaving behind our differences and starting fresh.

While I felt guilty for cheating on my beloved, I came to realize that straying from my comfort zone allowed me to see something different for a change. When entangled in the web of finals or the stress of a long paper, a change of scenery often leads to a new and needed perspective that repetition can’t resolve.

We were ultimately able to concentrate in an environment neither one of us had previously deemed worthy of exploring. Our experience at Clark symbolized that an Alderman and a Clemons student truly can work together. In fact, we crushed the PowerPoint presentation and strutted out of class believing we could be trendsetters for a new type of student: the Clark student.

The idea of starting a new studying trend was short-lived. As I passed by Alderman on my way home that night, a student opened the door and the rich smell of coffee and history lured me back to reality — I am an Alderman student all the way.

During my next set of finals, however, I might find myself sneaking over to Clemons or Clark to expand my horizons and fuel anticipated all-nighters with the adrenaline of cheating.

Shares128FacebookTweet

Filed Under: Academics UVA

About Dallas Simms

Dallas Simms is a third year at the University of Virginia pursuing Media Studies and Arts Administration. He enjoys kayaking, running, eating trail mix, and secretly watching Pretty Little Liars as “research” for his future screenwriting career.

You May Also Like

Woman sitting in a chair with a mug

Take a Break and Breathe: 10 Resources to Destress This Semester

Laptop on table

35 Zoom Backgrounds to Use to Become the Life of the Virtual World

cover photo sju si

Top 10 Best Resources Offered at St. John’s University-Staten Island

What Your Favorite Pixar Movie Says About You: College Edition

CM’s Guide to St. John’s University-Staten Island Campus

pensive

Tackling the Beast After 2020: Applying to Graduate School

CM’s Top 10 Best Pharmacy Schools in the Nation

10 Insanely Hard Classes to Avoid at Penn State

It’s Okay If Your Grades Fall Behind During a Pandemic

student typing on laptop

The Key to Surviving an Online Math Class in 2020

guy online

The Transition to Online Classes: A New Struggle or a Desirable Change? 

College Magazine’s Guide to the Engineering Major

smiling graduate

Redefining Success as a Freshman in College

Top 10 Hermione Granger Approved Colleges for Bookworms

20 Notable UConn Alumni Who Changed the World

10 Most-Loved Professors at the University of Florida

red stoplight

Reflections of a Nervous Post-Graduate

https://unsplash.com/photos/Z-ceDRi9fVU

Is There Such a Thing as Being Too Ambitious in College?

10 Invaluable Skills You Get from Learning and Working Virtually

Virtual Learning

Class Etiquette 101: The Unspoken Rules of Zoom

future teacher

CM’s Ultimate Guide to the English Education Major

How to Study for a Test When Your Roommates are Pregaming

online acting classes

The Show Must Go On: 10 Tips for Success in Online Acting Classes

aesthetic books

15 School Supplies English Majors Literature-lly Need This Fall 

Previous Post: « 5 Easy Ways to Beat Writer’s Block
Next Post: Sanity: The Most Important Graduation Requirement »

Primary Sidebar



Trending Posts

internship finder
181

The 10 Best Websites for Internships

dancing dreams
84

Saying Goodbye to My Dreams of Dancing

bookstack
34

Adding Diverse Stories to Your Shelves: 10 Books by BIPOC Authors

ucla royce
22

10 Resources All Student Artists at UCLA Should Know About

10

Top 10 Covid-19 Safe Spots to Explore Near UCLA

Featured Chapter: St. John’s University

Footer

logo

College Magazine is the national daily guide to campus life. Our articles for college students feature university rankings of U.S. colleges, college guides, academic advice, college prep, career advice, student health and collegiate dating tips.

Written by students for students, by a team of journalists from universities nationwide, we’re on the pulse of the college experience.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

Majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

Intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

Money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

Travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

Shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

Copyright © 2021 College Magazine · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.