Deciding to go to college was a big decision for me. I'd already been before and didn't get on with it. I was just out of school and my parents, as parents so often do, were putting pressure on me to get to college and get qualifications. To be clear, I wasn't forced into doing anything I didn't agree to and that pressure came from a place of love and concern but the driving force behind the decision came from above. It didn't work out and put me off the idea for a long time. After that, the idea of returning to higher education didn't cross my mind for many years. About 15 years, in fact.
It was photography that changed all that. I was good at it (though looking back, that term is used relatively) and passionate about it. My first college course had been "Applied Biological Sciences", for no other reason that Biology had been one of my better subjects at high school. The lack of passion and interest was the reason I was disconnected and eventually dropped out. It was all different the second time. I was enthused and really threw myself into things. Mature students have a reputation for not taking the course and the potential benefits for granted and I fit right into that cliche.
The library in the college had a good selection of books and stocked magazines that are harder to find/expensive as well. I knew that the 2 years I was there would be over before I knew it so wanted to make the most of the facilities available. I spent most of my lunchtimes, especially in first year in the library. Truth be told I was a bit of a swot.
This is the roof of the Strathclyde University building across the street. I liked to sit at the same desk, looking out onto the junction below. It was good for people watching. Being a floor up meant you were essentially invisible to the world as it passed by just a few metres from where I sat. Every day there would be new people, new cars. What didn't change was the feature on the roof opposite. That curve and the squares that jutted out from it was a constant. I'd often just sit and look at the way the sunlight faded round the cylinder.
I made a mental note to photograph it one day. Just to have it there, reminding me of how I felt when I went back into education and actually liked it. I didn't want to disturb the other library goers so the roof had to wait. In fact it waited until the very last day I would be in the college before being photographed. I had said my goodbyes to teachers and classmates but had one more stop before heading out the door. I would see most if not all of them again at some point. The college building had been sold a few months prior and I'd never again sit in the library and watch the sunlight crawl across the copper roof across the street.
There were some people in, reading at the time. Tough. They'd need to put up with the sound of the camera shutter for a minute or two. I wanted the photograph.