You want to know something good about the ancientness of Eastern University? It adds character.
When students walk into the weight room, they see something special. Yeah, I know, they see cracked dumbbells, rusted iron weights and dysfunctional exercise machines, but that’s what makes it special.
Some things need continual upgrades, like computers in the library and parking lots that have fewer spaces than permits sold to students. But one thing that doesn’t need to change is the facility for muscle-bound freaks and people concerned with their physical fitness.
I like to envision my life in movies, playing out roles and being epic. I also like getting inspired, which makes workouts more fun and intense. When I walk into Eastern’s weight room I’m walking into the Main Street gym in the film Rocky. It might as well be black and white. (To make it heaven, there should really be a punching bag hanging from the rafters in the center of the room – just a suggestion to the administration).
You start pumping weights, see yourself staring back in the mirrors and there it is – a 1970s movie about a street kid making a champion out of himself or herself.
The equipment is old, but what do we need it for anyway? The purpose of weights is for working out, not to look shiny and new.
State-of-the-art facilities and brand-new stadiums are overrated. I’ll take a green field over turf any day. Heck, corn fields are the best location for baseball games.
We can complain about the lack of upgrades on Eastern’s campus all we want, but some things just work better when they’re older.
If Eastern’s weight room were next door to me, I would make it my gym over the local gym without a second thought. It’s got character. It makes me accomplish what I set out to accomplish in the first place – no fancy machines attached.
When I leave Eastern’s weight room I feel like I’m walking away from something great. I got my workout in, and I was a part of an epic film.
Please don’t change the weight room. Leave it the same and keep the tradition unique. It won’t even cost any money to do that.