Memories and Their Ability to Sweeten Things: My Newfound Love for Evans Hall
Evans hall used to be the building that would cover the sunset view from my dorm. The building where my math discussions would take place at 9am. The building that dulled in comparison to the physics building. That said, Evans hall has a special place in my heart.
I often think about how places or things can have greater emotional capital depending on the person who is experiencing them. Similar to how the smell of a certain food or thing can unleash feelings of safety and comfort for some and mean nothing to others. The reason Evans Hall means so much to me is because I spent the majority of my freshman year there. Let me elaborate, (footy if you are reading this I’m sorry I know we agreed to gatekeep) it was my first semester in Cal and I was about to begin studying for my first midterm. I was friends with almost everyone on my floor to the extent that we would eat dinner together everyday at 7:20pm. So, I thought another great bonding idea was to study for our first midterm together. I attempted to reserve a room in Moffit library for all of us to study in but had no success since everyone on campus already had that same idea. So instead we decided to look around to find an open building to sit in. Since we lived in the foothill residences it was logical to try either Stanley hall, Hearst mining building, the Physics building, or Evans Hall. We were reluctant to enter Evans since we hated its exterior but were persuaded by one of my friends who had classes there. He told us about the musa math lounge located on the 9th floor. So we headed towards the 9th floor to find it. Surprise, that was a fail since it was 8pm and the musa study lounge had already closed. We were about to give up but decided to go to the 10th floor because none of us had been on the top floor of Evans. That's when we stumbled upon room 1015. The holy grail of all study rooms. Evans 1015 is a huge room with tables, chairs, couches, whiteboards, a projector, and a beautiful balcony that faces the bay. This day marked the beginning of my love for Evans Hall.
Going to Evans hall after dinner became a daily routine. Before heading downstairs for dinner everyone would take their backpacks and snacks to take to Evans. This not only made me keep up in my classes but also formed great memories. We often had themed days where people would bring their electric kettles to make tea, hot chocolate, or instant noodles. Sometimes we would take breaks and use the projector to play wordle, Contexto, Minecraft, Roblox and other games.In addition we sometimes had movie nights on Fridays in Evans.
Now we are all sophomores who don’t live on the same floor or even the same side of campus anymore. Evans still plays a big role in our bonding time. It has only been 2 weeks since school started but we have been studying and doing homework together in Evans. It would be hard for us to coordinate in someone's house or a quiet library so Evan’s hall has once again helped me maintain friendships. I see Evans in rose tinted glasses and I hope one day you will appreciate it as much as I do. Just please don’t storm Evans 1015. It is my favorite spot after all.