Do you want to know something I’ve learned about myself while living and working at Antioch College over the past several years of my life? Other than the fact that time does not pass in a linear fashion here, I have discovered that I am the kind of person people can pour their heart out to, that I am very good at keeping my mouth shut, and that I am a lot snarkier in my head than I let on to most people.
Talking about myself from the start of my co-op blog post? What kind of Leo nonsense is this? you might say.
Well, dear reader, with the pandemic still raging on and the world around me exposing just how uncaring and self-centered the general public can be, I think I’ve become just a tad bit jaded. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that Antioch has helped me for the better, but I also think there is something about the average Antiochian that truly loves telling the world their business.
Once, I spent almost an entire evening talking to an alum about her travels from home to here in Yellow Springs and about her granddaughter, who was turning eight, and how she had gone from being such an outgoing person to a very shy individual. She asked me how this happens with children. While I could only give her my honest opinion based on limited experience, I explained that this seems to happen with a lot of young kids, myself included. By the end of her visit, she left confident that this granddaughter of hers would surely grow out of it and that it would take an additional three hours to drive home because of the rain.
Okay, but how does this relate to your co-op? you ask.
Due to some unforeseen circumstances regarding my health, I was unable to follow through with my previous plans for the term and, thankfully, found a much more flexible position on campus at the Olive Kettering Library. While we don’t get as much action as we did in the past regarding outsiders, I have certainly heard my fair share of insider scoop while on the clock. My job for the most part is to sit at the front desk and keep track of who is entering and leaving the building and for what. At the end of the day, another student and I lock up before parting ways. But there’s something about this front desk that brings out the innermost thoughts of people. The power of the desk drives them over and, almost instinctively, I know I’m going to be hearing some recent gossip about to make its way across campus.
I’ve also been playing movies on the television here in order to foster this little community within a community and attract more guests. It has worked a bit and I’m proud to say that we’ve had a few more students, as well as some staff, show up to partake in the nightly festivities. Admittedly, the movie nights started off a little rocky, but we’ve still managed to successfully get through a few choice horror films from the early 2000s, and that in itself should be considered a victory for humanity—or at least my sanity. Plus, it got everyone amped up for Halloween!
I think that is what the true beauty of the library is, a place where the community can come together and let loose all of our dirty laundry, hold candid discussions about what turmoil our political climate is in, or learn a few interesting things about previous alumni and what they were up to when they attended Antioch.
Often, I wonder what kind of things they must have heard from behind those sacred counters during their heyday. Stories of people who attended school even before them? What about those who have long since departed but left their mark on the school? What protests did they attend in their stride to win victories for humanity?
And what does that say about our future as a college? Who will be sitting behind the desk when I am long gone? What stories would they tell about me, the girl typing away behind the front desk, in the height of a pandemic, who struggles to get a DVD to play for the evening movie nights?
