The "University level"
In one section of the text, Gladman begins the day "thinking about the university level," and imagines what it might look like and the sort of person who would be allowed to attend. She writes: "there were a series of gates to pass through, a grand lawn, a series of gates and then an elevator to take you down into the earth. The university level would be on the top floor of something." Using this imagery, Gladman depicts the "university level" as being grand and elevated.
Sleepless nights imagery
Gladman describes a day where she is considering her essays, and what she wants to achieve from them. She says that she believes they are lacking in some way, but can't quite work out what is lacking. She describes how she "sat in a gaze of wanting more as I drank coffee and looked into these essays for their architecture, waiting for the sun to rise and sleep to come over me." This imagery makes it seem as though her relentless thinking about the essays is keeping her up at night.
Bridges imagery
Gladman speaks about past relationships in one essay, saying that Danielle "missed this decade where we just couldn't burn our bridges, where we built bridges on top of ruined bridges and lived in an elaborate architecture of trying and trailing to try then at the last minute trying." Here, Gladman is comparing broken relationships and new relationships to architecture, specifically the building and destruction of bridges. This imagery visually represents what Gladman is trying to say, and makes her message about the impact of past relationships more understandable.
