Morris Library here at the University of Delaware is conveniently located on campus, at its own designation apart from any other buildings whether they be for education, dining, labs, etc. The library, a place which I deemed to be intimidating at first, is an escape for studying, printing, completing work, writing papers, and to be in silence allowing for focus. I had not made the journey to the library until finals week of Fall semester, where I found the quiet floor proved to be a space in which I could focus better and complete the work at hand. Of course, I found myself drifting away from my work at times, usually to check my phone, but have learned to not allow my phone to be too much of a distraction while completing my work for the day. During the first week of the Spring semester, I made my way up to the quiet floor of the library only to find others around me falling into the same habit I had last semester. 

The quiet floor is meant for no distractions, a place where talking is prohibited for the sake of focus, studying, and work completion, right? While there is no “distractions” necessarily on this floor, there are factors that can become a distraction. As I glanced over to the table next to me, I saw a boy wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, laptop out ready for work and all, sitting, staring at his phone as if he could not be pulled away. Perhaps he was scrolling through instagram, checking messages, or watching a video. I am not really sure what he was doing but what I do know is that it was enough to distract him for at least 15 minutes. He had begun work when he sat down, but as I continued mine, glancing over from time to time, his work break only seemed to become more prolonged. He remained slightly hunched over in his seat, eyes glued to his phone screen. Whatever presented itself on his phone was clearly more interesting than the daunting task that portrayed itself on his laptop. We’ve all been there, and it is only something to improve on.

By: Toni Abdy