Third Spaces are important

 This is a topic I haven't covered before at least not in its own post. Third spaces are important for society. It is a reprieve from our home lives and our work lives. There are physical, tangible third spaces, and there are also digital third spaces. Third spaces are our spot to be safe, to learn, to socialize.

One of my favorite third spaces for myself is the library. My home branch right now is under renos so you can't really browse. But I like the aspect of borrowing books and reading them without the pressure of spending money to own them, and for them to take up permanent room on your shelves. The library is a place of learning and community. It is a very useful and valuable resource in the community. In the U.S. as well as Canada (i.e. Ontario), libraries and other third spaces are disappearing. I use the example of the library as disappearing because the library is not just a place to borrow books. You can borrow movies, music, it has other services such as community groups and classes. They have computers you can't print resumes and other documents off of. Some people don't have computers ,and if you're like me, you have a computer but ink for your printer is hella expensive, and you don't do a lot of printing anyway (I do use my printer for scanning documents at least ), my library system has 5 dollars of free printing every month in printing credits per account. This is a newer initiative at my library system. Books aren't always cheap, so families with kids who are struggling can use the library and not worry about buying books. There are tax clinics at the library too. The libraries around here also have free Covid test kits. The library also has people who tutor students, albeit I'm not sure if they are library staff or people who come to the library to tutor the students.

Third spaces also exist in parks, gyms, public pools, etc. I do not currently go to the gym but I appreciate the idea of it. I was going years ago but had to cancel my membership due to my branch shutting down and also money reasons. I probably should have transferred my membership to the other branch that is an easy bus ride away from my apt, but I didn't think of it at the time. The gym provides community, and if you're a woman like me, you appreciate having a women's only section of the gym if you don't feel comfortable around gym bros.

Another third space I enjoy even though it is a retail space is Dollarama. I have covered Dollarama in a previous post. Mind you, things have gone up in price at Dollarama. Not just that the price point is now up to $5 in store, but things have gone up in price that have been there for years. SOS pads used to be $1.25, they are now $1.75. Mind you, in my opinion, SOS pads are still cheaper at Dollarama than most stores. Dollarama is a happy spot for me. It's a useful store for household cleaners and I like their brand ziploc bags. Sometimes I don't even need to buy much in there at all, it's one of my favorite stores and I love visiting Dollarama.

Really anything could be a third space. Doesn't have to be a gym or a library. As long as it isn't work, school or home, it counts, especially if it makes you happy!

curlyalicia