The Guide to Spotting the Homo Sapien in Its Natural Habitat and Making Inferences on Who and What They Are (aka People Watching)

God bless GSU. Some people hate that school with an utter passion--cough cough my HIST 2010 teacher, but I love it. I mean where else on earth will you find homeless people wondering across campus, an old man smoking weed, females who walk around in the dead of winter half clothed, and then on top of all of that get charged an arm, leg, kidney, and left lung for books and other living expenses. No where else on the planet, I'll say.

I mean people constantly complain and groan about how there is nothing cheap to do in Atlanta and I am just awe. Cause honestly there is a ton to do for pretty cheap. You can go to Cinifest...for free. You can join a club. You can get a job (which is a bit tougher now because of the whole recession). Or perhaps you can do one of my most coveted and adored pastimes, PEOPLE WATCH!

Okay so today while waiting for Joel to arrive so I could return his book to him, I decided to sit in the Library Plaza and read. BAD IDEA! Because you really can't get a lot of reading done with people wondering around, crashing into each other and shouting out from across the campus, "'Ey! Playa, what up, folk!" or some other phrase of the like. So I decided to people watch and make up stories about their lived and let me say it kept me pretty entertain for a whole entire hour.

So here is what I am going to do. I am going to give people fake names and a fake description of them. Then in parenthesis I will explain how I got to that conclusion.

Here is the story of Leroy Biggums. Leroy is a man who is old in age. He is probably sixty seven. He is a devious man though. Never quite found a way to stay out of trouble. He jokes around and tells his friends, "Look may'ne. It ain't never been 'bout me stayin' outa trouble. It' 'bout trouble not catchin' my black ass." In which all his friend with muffled laughter, "Ain't that the damn truth." Oh yes, Leroy Biggums, kind soul...when you get to know him. Underneath all that pride of his rebellion he is truthfully ashamed for not changing. He has lost something because he couldn't give up a habit and now he sits alone everyday in the Library Plaza at 2:40PM hoping something just might change. (I got all of that from this: I got up to move to a chair and I saw this old man smoking. I looked at him and gave him a respectful nod and he suspiciously nods back and hides whatever he is smoking. I then realize he his smoking marijuana and looks at me with the saddest of a face. I shrug my shoulders at him and smile, because today I realized was not a day for me to judge.)

Ashley Pierce is pretty. She shops at American Eagle, Hollister, and Ralph Lauren. She was born into a prosperous family and a rich community. Ashley--who prefers to be called Ash--is beautiful, funny, well spoken and was unfortunately labeled as the "Oreo chick" black on the outside white on the inside. This hideous label has followed her throughout all of high school especially when she was redistricted to go to a urban school. On the first day of sophomore when the teacher asked her to introduce herself she stood up with the brightest of faces, "Good morning everyone. My name is Ashley Pierce I came from Whitewood High. I am excited to be here and meet new people though." The moment she sat down the class was in an uproar including the teacher. Paper hurled its way from her classmates hands to the back of her head. "Looks like we got ourselves an oreo", a boy said. That is when it all started. Three years later it seemed to have followed her to GSU. It is not as bad when she is with friends, but when she is alone it is hell. (I got all of this from a girl who sat next to me and in the most proper voice she said, "Good afternoon this is ...whatever her name was...may I speak with Dylan." There were these two ethnic girls sitting in close proximity to her the glanced to make sure she was black and started snickering at her.)

My last story is about a girl named Olu Ande. At first glance you would think she was a loner. That she had no friends at all and spent her time enveloped in some book to escape the confines of her desperate situation, but if you look longer and harder you can tell she is just using the book as a rouse. She is actually people watching. She thinks she is such a rouge, but every so often you can hear a chuckle passing through her lips. It mean she has just concluded one of her outlandish stories. She hides behind her aggression, because it is easier and safer than being kind. She is truly a diamond in the rough. She has once loved, but it seemes that love dressed her like a clown. Surrounded by rock it takes a lot to get through without damaging her, but whenever you get there it will totally be worth it. (If I have to explain this you are a dill-weed.)

Post-in,
Tosin