This afternoon, Belén, Andy and I were at the mall doing a little shopping. This is not a normal activity, especially the fact that Andy had suggested we go to the mall to get me new shoes and a set of matching placemats (yes, you read correctly!), but that is a whole other story.
After we found the shoes and placemats, we decided to go to the food court to get something to eat. I have always liked A&W cheeseburgers so we chose A&W from the array of vendors in the mall food court. A high school student took our order and while we were waiting for our food, a teenage boy ordered his food. He was Mexican and had a large diamond-looking stud in his ear and was tatted up with gang-looking tattoos. I stood there and wondered what the kid’s story was and wondered why he was trying to look so tough. I thought to myself that perhaps he was a good kid that just felt the need to look tough for some reason.
I try really hard not to judge people by how they look and I actually think it is wonderful how so many people are different than what you would expect based on their appearance. The disappointing thing to me is that many times, people are exactly what you might expect based on how they look.
Back to the A&W line, I found it strange that I felt the urge to pull my purse closer to me. I very seldomly have such an urge in Boise or even other cities.
As I was shopping for a new pair of jeans in the Gap, Andy and Belén were sitting out on a bench near the escalator when the same kid who had been behind us in the A&W line started sprinting out of Dillards with two undercover mall cops running after him. Andy said that he ran so fast that he ran out of his Timberland boots. (Apparently that is what the cool gangstas are wearing these days, I am so behind the times.) Andy said that it was a cat and mouse foot chase totally out of a movie where people are getting knocked over and the cops are yelling at the bad guy.
When I came out and met Andy and Belén, Andy told me that I missed the excitement. He explained what had happened and I immediately felt disappointed that the kid met the expectations that I did not want to have for him.
I gave into similar expectations of myself. I had intentions of buying some really fashionable new shoes…maybe even a pair of flats like those recommended by the Unlikely Housewife. I love the looks of the shoes, not so much the price, but I was determined to find something similar. After walking around the shoe section of Dillards, I realized that I really didn’t know what I was looking for. Andy was doing his best to point out shoes that looked like ones I would like but that were also a little more jazzy than what I would normally wear. The shoe salesman either really liked Danskos or there was a promotion they were running with Danskos, but for whatever reason, he was really pushing the shoes. The hard part is that I know that I can walk forever in the shoes and not get blisters and while they are not New York fashionable, they are not unfashionable in Boise. With all of my explaining, you have have probably guessed what I did by now. I went into the store explictly telling the salesman I didn’t want to buy Danskos because I already have more pairs of them than I care to admit. These are the shoes I left with:
Tapestry Danskos
I know, right?! While I am not in the slightest bit disappointed in the shoes, I am disappointed that I cannot seem to break free from the same old things that I always buy with the exceptions of the little flair I add to spice things up. I guess, sometimes we just cannot break out of the expectations others have for us nor those we have for ourselves.
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