There's something to be said about background noise

I never appreciated background music in a store until I shopped in one that was silent. There is something reassuring and consistent about a classic 80s anthem complementing a shopping experience, and I've decided I need it. At Aldi, a smaller market, discount grocery store chain, the only sounds are the conversations of the customers and crinkling bags. There is no background music above the aisles, no Elton John or Journey to ease you through your selection of frozen dinners.
Imagine yourself in aisle 7, staring at the cereals, deciding between Cheerios or Fruity Pebbles.
Can you imagine shopping without this?

With the encouragement to not stop believing, I choose Cheerios.

At Aldi, you can hear each other breathing, and, in the early evening when customers pick up food after work and before dinner, you can hear the tired foot steps loud and clear. At Aldi, the bags of chips have a crunch with more clarity than your typical store. These are the moments in daily life when you have the painful realization of a song being stuck in your head,  because when there is no music you sing your own songs.

Rihanna is played everywhere these days. When I was in Aldi the girl I was with had moments of blurting "Oh na na, what's ma name?"
Then I started to hum the same song, stuffing the groceries into spare boxes from the aisles.

At Kroger I'm walking through the produce section, Fergie is singing a soft ballad.
The smell of your skin lingers on me now...

I'm finished, the smell of the tomatoes and potatoes lingers on me now, and I feel like that's how it was supposed to be.

There's something to be said about adversity

I've come full circle. No, I've come full oval, and it was (probably) the most entertaining walk across the famous paths on Ohio State's campus that I've ever had.

I think it was (almost everyone) who said "adversity reveals your character", or something really close to that.
Today was certainly adverse, in this case the weather conditions, involving below freezing temperatures and steady snow. The weather was rough, especially to be walking on a wide open lawn, but that didn't stop a handful of students from showing their resilience. As I made my way from the south end of the oval, eventually to reach shelter in the library, the sights were abundant.

Enter first female student, presumably (absolutely) a freshman, falls on her red-sweatpants covered ass. She got up quicker than a UFC fighter, which was beautifully resilient. Her problem was the Nike shoes that served as no traction on the icy ground. I laughed quietly and wished her well on the rest of her walking; to myself of course.

Halfway down the brick path in the middle of the oval, I heard (and so did everyone else on campus) a student's potentially life-altering cell-phone conversation with someone important to her. Let's assume it was her boyfriend, because she really, really cared. 

"You know what, I'm sick and tired of waiting on you, waiting to know when you're going to be ready for this!", said the raging female at the top of her lungs.
Obviously she was ready, and the cold wasn't doing anything for sickness and fatigue.

Finally, as I was just a few first downs from the library doors, I was almost swept away (literally) by two dedicated runners. I first want to commend these runners for braving the aforementioned weather conditions.  They weren't running fast, so maybe they were jogging, and their body language said they were, at the very least - friends. However, it seemed like they had traded clothes, which was not a wise move in respect to their body types. The first runner was a short, skin-and-bone girl who was just above five feet tall. She was wearing a cut-off tee shirt, and baggy black gym shorts with running shoes. This might be traditional if it weren't 20 degrees and she weighed more than 100 pounds. The second runner was a large set, dark-haired male. He was the complete opposite build, but he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, and some variation of spandex sweatpants. The girl's skin was pale white and the guy's skin was tan, but both of them had scarlet red cheeks.

With these genius outfits, they created their own set of adversity.

As I walked into the library, I found myself amused and secretly wished it was snowing inside the building so I could see more smart moves in hard times.

I opened the door with black gloves that are too small for me. I was reminded of how I bought them (obviously) because of the first freezing day of the year. My reaction to adversity was to purchase the gloves in a size large..... for women. I paid no attention that day. I smiled, walked in the library, and warmed up.