Going off of yesterday's post, I have been thinking about other spaces that we enter in order to feel like a certain person. Although they all serve their own purpose, we do use them to feel like a kind of person that we want to be. Here is my list:

Hair salon - After I get my hair done, I surely feel like a different person. My appearance has changed and the act of enhancing my appearance arguably makes me a certain type, but being in the space of a salon makes me feel like a part of pop culture. I am in the cool crowd because that is a place that cool people frequent.

Library - Even if I don't read a single book in the library, I feel smarter being in there. The close proximity to so much knowledge makes me feel enlightened. I'll go to the library to work even if I don't use of the resources available. It's a weird kind of contact high that doesn't make much sense, but it feels so right.

Grocery store - The market is a staple of everyday lives because we all need to eat. I can only speak for myself when I say this, but I go into the grocery store sometimes to feel like I care about my body and my health. After going grocery shopping, I feel like I am more in touch with my life, like I am more in control than I was before I went grocery shopping. I think this is because the grocery store gives us so many choices. You can't look anywhere in there without seeing something that you can choose to by or walk past. Maybe this is why shopping malls and stores in general are so popular. We feel in control because there are so many choices at our fingertips. Even if we don't necessarily want to buy everything, or even if we can't afford anything in the store, just being in there puts us on that side of the fence, the consumer side. And part of the American dream is being able to buy anything we want. Being a consumer, having that ability, that is supposedly power. Little do we realize that consumers are at the whim of producers. Having the ability to choose what goes on the shelf, that's a whole other side of power we rarely acknowledge.

Outdoors - I was guilty of this this morning. Lately, I haven't much felt like doing on my morning run. For a while, I had a really good habit of waking up and going on a run before having breakfast. Then I'd come home and make myself something nutritious to eat. I would feel energized and healthy for the rest of the day. In the past few months though, I've given up on running because of business and plain old lethargy. To try and make a comeback, I'll maybe go on a quick walk outside. Even just going around the block once makes me feel better, and even that tiny bit of exercise surely does help. But I've realized that just being outside makes me feel healthier, and I think it's a false sense of healthy. The sun and fresh air is undoubtedly salutary in the morning, but it's not the same as the physical exertion I was putting myself through before.