Leaving before dawn and returning with the stars, poet Yun Dong-ju had to walk two hours to school. Malala, an Afghanistani girl was threatened by the Taliban for going to school. Like people from long ago and far away, Ewha students too, have a hard time studying. Although the hardship Ewha students experience is smaller than the ones mentioned above, to us it is quite enough to complain- the stairway to the central library.
As a freshman, adjusting to the new university life was not an easy task. Above all, I was going through tough exercise everyday, climbing stairs and hills, and runing every hour to make it to class on time. Out of breath to even curse anyone, I would think how “wonderful” the school is to help me be strong both physically and academically.
Thus, because of the never-ending stairway to the library, visiting the library was not an option for the first few weeks.
However, my trip to the library was earlier than expected. Three hours of free time made me curious about the mysterious building on top of the hill. I started my mission: climbing up the stairway. Feeling my back heating up, I inhaled deeply before entering the library. With awe and respect for the ambience of wisdom and knowledge, here I was in the library.
The library was hosting a stamp tour, and so I joined the stamp tour. Running up and down the stairs and searching for answers on computers, I was back in my childhood when my mother hid small treats around the house. I learned a lot about the library through the stamp event. If it were not for the event, I would not have visited the 5th floor law library. Also, who would have known the existence of a study room with a presentation beam, or the media room with a gigantic screen for six people? Finally receiving an adorable canvas bag as my final treasure, the exciting treasure hunt was over. The stamp tour was surely a fruitful time to learn about the library.
The visit to the library was surely worth the climb of the never-ending stairways. The stairs had an end, and shed light to a pathway to bookshelves of never-ending wisdom-treasures containing wisdom of men and history. As all Ewha students continue their journey for the search of truth and growth, the library will always be there to help. After all, the stairway too, will make us healthy, and so let us hike to the library!
Heading my way out of the library, I felt guilty to leave the library empty-handed. So I decided to pick up a book to look and feel like a university student (actually to show people in the subway that I am a university student who can read literature). Looking through the bookshelves, I found a faded hardcover book with classic handwriting, Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.
Although I went through his poems as a high school student, appreciating his works in this beautiful campus soon to bloom with flowers made my heart beat. To sit on a bench with a cup of Americano, enjoying the sun and the smell of flowers. With the book in one hand, I came out of the library.
Standing on top of the library hill, I felt a cool breeze pass by.