Third Place

Being new to Temple, I feel like I have not yet found my third place. I spend most of my time in classes or in my dorm, with the almost daily dinner with a few of my new friends. Though I don’t have one of my own, I have observed a few others’ spaces. Living at The Edge, I have to walk through quite a bit of the campus to get to my classes. On my way back from class, I see the popular social spots throughout the campus. I see fellow students sitting in the grass around the bell tower, enjoying the last days of a slightly summer sun. Next I pass though Liacouras walk and see people sitting at tables or on ‘the wall’, or a few people taking part in a game of four-square. Towards the south end of Liacouras, I pass by the square that is usually taken over by a large group of skate boarders. I usually slow down so I can admire some of their moves and reminisce of the lax summer days between the simplistic years of grade school that I would spend playing the “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” games. As I make my way back up the stairs to my room, I think for a moment that maybe I will one day have a third place that I can visit as often as the people that I have just seen do, a place where it is neither home nor workspace, but community activity. For now, I will admire them from afar until I find my own, and continue to wander between one and two.