Mccain Bedroom Observation

I conducted my observation in the reading room of McCain Library, also known as the nap room by many Agnes Scott students. The reading room is a long rectangular space that is very open and has one wall covered in ceiling to floor windows. There are a few paintings and a large fireplace, with a big sofa right in front of it, at the end of the room. The majority of the couches are faced directly towards the windows, where students can people watch while studying. The rest of the room is decorated with several chairs and matching ottomans. There are a few end tables with lamps and coffee cups and students’ keys sitting on top of them. There are also two large dining room tables with four chairs around them, but no one seems to be sitting at the table.
(The main reason
for people probably not occupying the dining room tables is because they are in the center of the room, and it seems as if people are creating their own little islands in order to better focus on their work. It also may be in order to enhance the feeling of relaxation, by lounging on a couch, putting feet up on the ottoman, or just curling up against the armrest.)
There are not very many people in the reading room and everyone is spread out in this large room, with at least two couches between everyone. It is very quiet, the only noise is the sound of the heater in the background, the opening and shutting of the door upstairs, the occasional sniffle, the ruffling of papers, and the zipping and unzipping of book bags. No one has headphones in, we are all just sitting in silence. People are either peacefully reading or using their laptops and every once in a while checking their phones. Everybody seems so relaxed and peaceful. A tour has just begun so the silence ends as the tour guide opens the doors, and directs everyone to look over the ledge as she refers to the reading room as the nap room and proclaims, “It’s fairly quiet and the sun’s always pouring in.” Following behind her is slight chatter, and for a moment the peaceful energy that once was, turns slightly chaotic in the indistinguishable mumbling of the prospective students and their families. With the opening and closing of the doors, the chaotic energy is gone and the peaceful energy is reinstated. With that I begin to really observe the people around me, and the do not seemed to be fazed. I brought a sausage biscuit with me and as I begin to unravel the foil, I feel like I am disrupting the quietness and making the most noise. Once again, everyone sees unbothered, they either are so preoccupied with their work that they do not notice, or they just do not care. A new sound emerges; it is the sound of someone writing or drawing on a sheet of paper. Then, someone lets out a sigh. I cannot determine whether it is a sigh of relief, a result of being overwhelmed, or just a prolonged exhale in the hopes of making breathing easier due to a stuffy nose. It came from a girl on the couch. She has her hand on her head and earlier she was rolling her neck, it seems as if she is experiencing discomfort. I recognize her, she is a senior and the president of the American Chemistry Society. The other person in the reading room is a young lady, older than me, who I presume to be a postgrad. She has a puffy blue jacket slung on the back of her chair. It is thirty-two degrees outside.
(Everyone in the reading room was older than me.
Of all the other times that I have been to the reading room, the majority of people in there are first years like me. I think the reason behind this is that they are used to having to deal with this type of weather, and chose to visit the reading room at this time, because they know it is not going to be as crowded as usual. I am also assuming this is why they are not as distracted by the tour group and the ruffling of the foil from my sausage biscuit, because they are used to it. I think it is obvious that the president of ACS is stressed out based on her mannerisms. I am assuming that all her responsibilities as well as being into the last three months of her senior year at ASC are causing her to become overwhelmed. The age of the students in the reading room seems to have a lot to do with them embracing the silence of the room with open arms, instead of shoving headphones into to their ears to create their own world. The people in the reading room were able to go into their own world’s without the use of headphones to block out the other sounds, and I think this has to do with their maturity as well as the fact that they have experienced this
before.)