The New Rant.

My friends are always the greatest source of inspiration.
Today we talked about people smelling weird.
You know, the ones who smell SO strongly of perfume/cologne when you walk by it gets in your mouth and you spend the rest of the day feeling like the perfume counter lady has spritzed the inside of you mouth. Or the ones who smell oddly of pepperoni and staleness. Or the ones who smell like an old apartment building. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Or the ones who just have really bad BO.
What I think is weird is that no one seems to notice they smell this way. I mean, there comes a certain point when you begin to notice all that stuff. Especially when people shy away from you.
Today I was sitting in one of the many study rooms at the library, after finding out my favorite spot had been occupied since probably 7:59 AM onwards, and "studying" which morphed into "glancing up and evaluating the people walking in". What had never occurred to me before today, even though it really should have, is that while I pick out clothes, do my hair, and judge myself in the mirror every morning, everyone else is doing the same thing.
It struck me between "Oh, I like those shoes" and "Why would he pick that". It's funny to think about, actually, that people judge themselves, picking out something that will say what they're all about to the world.
I know some people just roll out of bed, grab the closest garments, and leave, but that's making a statement right there. Something along the lines of "I don't care", "I look great in anything", or "I'm in Science and have 6 exams this week". It really all depends. Then there are those who meticulously pick out their clothes, matching everything, making sure it fits just right, and that it's going to say the right thing. "Yes, this cost more than your meal-plan", "Of course I look this good without even trying", "Daddy's. Platinum. Amex.". And of course there's everything in between.
The interesting thing is that what someone wants to say, and what other people decide they're saying can be completely different. How can something that you spend so much time figuring out go so astray? I suppose it has to do with the fact that everyone has unique perceptions of how the world appears, and read everything just minutely differently. Yes, within a culture we all generally follow the same patterns, but we're all going to read what someone's putting off differently, and that's when it gets interesting.
So maybe those people who smell like pepperoni really like pepperoni, or at least the smell, and think it's ok to smell weird... well, in their minds I'm sure it wouldn't be "weird", but pepperoni isn't exactly a regular scent.