You guys: it is my last semester of senior year and I am JUST NOW discovering that I LOVE AND APPRECIATE Mugar.
I do not, at all, love the building, or the associations I have with it due to too many late nights on the sixth floor by myself writing some paper or another. And for many Boston University students I’m sure this admission will seem crazy and maybe even just induced by a few too many coffees.
But you guys: I love the BOOKS.
In truth I know I must be one of the literal last people who still uses actual books in research papers, but as I’ve worked over the past year on my Kilachand Honors Keystone I’ve come to have a new appreciation for the sheer volume of sources we have access to at Boston University.
I suppose this may be a good time to mention that these sort of resources haven’t really been a part of my COM experiences. As a journalism major, my sources were live on the street, not in the stacks. But through my general education classes, my English dual degree, and the pursuit of my Kilachand keystone.
The incredible thing about attending Boston University is that we have all these resources right there to use. Blessedly, my topic of choice for research is an extremely specific niche, and so I’ve been able take books home for weeks at a time, coming back to them as I need.
Books about everything from the history of the cafe in Paris to a personal recollection of the culture of Bohemia to The Joy of Cooking have informed this last major collegiate research project. In case after case, I’ve actually come across useful sources while looking for others in the same section.
But really this newfound nostalgia for the library is a smaller subset of a broader retrospective appreciation for the opportunities of four years at college. From the best classes to the most tedious projects to the latest nights up writing, it’s important to remember that the opportunity to do so can’t be underrated.
As I look out at my future as a young professional (gulp) and realize that I won’t have to spend hours pouring over books about the language of Shakespeare and the history of the papacy and the philosophy of the enlightenment, I also look forward to a chance to do it without the pressures of school work.
