Most people love the Chocolate Bar for its variety of coffee drinks, delicious pastries and treats (chocolate chip muffins? Yes, please!), and gelato. As someone who needs no sleep and no coffee, however, my love for the Chocolate Bar is not based off of my need to be caffeinated throughout the day. Instead, the Chocolate Bar has quickly become my favorite study spot on campus, and chances are, if you’re there, I’ll be there too!
I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical when they tore up our beloved Dust Bowl to start building Stokes. Was another building really that necessary? I mean, it’s not like it was going to be anything special, right? Wrong. Not only is Stokes the home of the wonderful Chocolate Bar, but also it’s home to the history department, basically making it the greatest building on campus by a wide margin.
As someone who always has ridiculous amounts of work, I spend a lot of time planted at a table going through everything I need to get done. I tend to stick to certain spots to study, returning to the same place over and over again for months. Freshmen year, it was the O’Connell House; last year, the study lounge on the fourth floor of Walsh, then the booths in O’Neill; and this semester, the Chocolate Bar has become my go-to study spot.
I would be lying if I didn’t admit to the occasional people watching; sometimes the fact that I can just sit there and watch everyone go by gets way too entertaining when all I need to do is work. I can’t decide if I like it more when people notice me and come visit or when they don’t and I can send them random texts about what they’re wearing, what they were doing, etc. just to see their reactions (because people do that, right?). My friends and professors all know that I’m constantly there, and on the days when I’m not (aka when I have prac), I get texts asking where I am, why I’m not there, is everything okay? My random visitors throughout the day make the hours of writing papers, reading for classes, and studying seem a little better. And when I get really restless sitting there, I can make a quick trip up to the history department to say hi to my favorite professors!
So next time you’re looking for a new study spot, definitely check out the Chocolate Bar! As long as you don’t take my table, that is! You may be doing work, but at least you’re doing it in beautiful Stokes. Things could definitely be worse.
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