Balance

When pushing red doors, that is the forth floor of academic building in The City University of Hong Kong (City U), the same floor where Run Run Shaw Library is located, but first come into mind may be the crowd of people and noise; almost no difference between shopping in Mongkok on Sunday. Passing through the throng of people who are waiting for their friends or classmates, barely walk to the entrance of the library. Yet, at that moment getting into library, suddenly in silent and without any sounds, it makes people to wonder if having a hearing problem. However, this peaceful place acts like a shelter for people to escape from the busy day. If keep walking alongside, a jungle, with a great deal of lofty stacks, which are in rectangular shape, can be found. The books on the shelves are various in colors and different in sizes, from pocket size to giant size; such as assorted fruits on trees, what people have to do is grab what they want; but each fruit on the trees is unique, sometimes they want to have peach instead of an orange, they have to find out where it is in this huge jungle. Fortunately, searching engines can help; it likes a sign on the trees, telling what kind of fruits they have. While come closer to the target, the smell of books is getting stronger and guides people to the right position. “Ding-dong…Ding-dong…”a sound of “bingo” comes out of the brain immediately. Finally, the pickers can pick their favourite fruit and taste it. Sometimes, the fruit is not ripe and tastes sour, they will know that they have picked a wrong one. After choosing the fruits, it would be great to take a seat and enjoy the sweet. Nearby the jungle, there is a gray castle. Surrounded by low stacks in gray, this circular area looks like independent from others and creates a private walled castle – protecting people from disturbance. It is an area for students to study individually, where is not allowed chatting. Some of the students are taping on laptops; some of them are flipping books; some of them are writing their own notes. Without any whisper, these periodic sounds seem inconsistency, but it is full of harmonic and fluidity. On the students’ faces, they show their full attention on their works so seriously, like a surgeon who is doing a surgery, there is nothing else outside their world except the work. Hence, there is no doubt that library is a suitable area for study as it provides a quiet, as well as calm atmosphere. However, some of the people, who hate reading or study, will have other choices. Far from the study area, there is a site which is full of red, leather sofa. Although it is also in the area of library, some of the people are taking nap or snoozing on the sofa; some other people are talking to each other. The sounds of snoring and murmurings destroy the tranquil moment in the library; it likes the drone of vehicles, driving into the countryside or a swarm of locusts are going to invade the field. Although they are all under the same rule: Be quiet, students can opt to enjoy the fun of reading or become a rule offender. Therefore, some people think that school reflects the reality of society while the library somehow is the reflection of university. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”- Wendell Phillips(1811-1884). People are given freedom, and meantime, they have to remind themselves to obey the rules or they have to bear the consequences. This all depends on how people choose and strike the balance of life. Walking to the exit of library, it means the time to go back to the hustle and bustle of university life.