Cops and Robbers

(Notice: This actually took place last week.)

Today was Cops and Robbers Day.  The Sophomore and Senior classes were the robbers.  The Freshman and Junior classes were the cops.  I felt kinda bad for the cops, because how can you really dress up like a cop?  If you're a robber, just throw on some black and a ski mask and you've got a costume.  Plus, being the robber is way more fun, in my opinion.

The day was spent trying my hardest to act like a gangsta, which is very hard when you're a 5'1 white girl who attends a private Christian school.  Being thuggish just doesn't work.  I would try to have a thug accent or a tough guy face, but I couldn't help but smile and laugh and sound silly.

I wore a pair of $1.50 black baggy sweat pants I purchased from a thrift store, red polka dot boxers showing up top, a big black hoodie that said "White and Nerdy", like the song (my dad's), and a black beanie I got from Wal-Mart.  I wear a lot of black t-shirts, but I'm not sure if I've ever worn all black before.  A new experience for me.

I'll admit any day that my private school doesn't have any true gangsters.

The best-looking robber/gangster was my friend Zeek, who happens to be one of the two African American teens at my high school.  He pulled off his look quite well, if you ask me!

For lunch, my friends and I decided to visit a happy deli, a usual lunch destination for us all.  We were giggling as we thought of all of the reactions we would get.  We were very careful not to be loud, obnoxious, or disruptive when we went out to eat.  We figured we would act like our normal, positively received selves, and see how people responded to the gangster versions of us.

As soon as we entered the front door, every eye in the room locked on us and every single smile faded completely.  Mothers grabbed their kids, grandparents shook their heads disapprovingly... it was awful.  It literally wiped the grins off of our faces.  We weren't considered funny.  The cashiers wouldn't smile at us, even though we acted as 'sweet' and bubbly as we always do.  A couple of ladies bumped into me and a friend, opened their mouth to smile and apologize, and then clamped their mouth shut, turned, and walked away without a word.

To be honest, I was affected by this.  My friend Rebekah shook her head as we left the restaurant, saying, "People are so judgmental.  I never realized that."  We may say that we don't judge people by appearances, but we do.  We honestly do.  From now on, I will not look at appearances as much as I do.  If someone dresses scary, maybe they're just in costume for Spirit Week.

Maybe a genuine smile is all it takes to brighten someone's entire outlook on their day.