People Watching vs Watching People

The other day, I was sitting in front of Lenox Mall in Atlanta, waiting for my favorite friend to arrive and I began to reflect.  I was watching the different groups of people enter and exit the mall.  I was also noting their purchases.  Very interesting dynamic.  There were the Asian chics in seemingly uncomfortably tall heels and teeny tiny dresses.  There were Ethiopians in throwback Rocawear and Enyce leaving with bedding.  There were Caucasians with faded polos, cargo shorts and Birkenstocks.    There were the African American guys in big bodied Expeditions with tinted windows and ridiculously big tires and rims.  There were African American women who seemed to have just left work, speaking abnormally loud on their cellphones.  Caucasian women with teeny bags from Arden B.  There were Travis Porter clones.

People always make me very curious.  I always want to know their story.  When I am out and about, I like to people watch.  While I'm in restaurants, I like to try to figure out people's relationships, based on what I can hear them say or how they physically interact with each other.  Her arms are folded, she's mad.  He keeps looking down her shirt.  I wonder what they're talking about, he looks very uncomfortable.  Did she just roll her eyes? Wow!  So, as I sat in my car watching people enter and exit the mall, I started to think.  It's amazing how the people who sometimes look carefree are usually those that are.  And in contrast, they people who are obsessively and excessively ornate and manicured are typically not.  It just makes me wonder.  Do big cars and big chains denote status?  And to who?  How do people know the real ballers aren't driving Camrys?

In dialog and observation,  it's amazing to me the things that we value and invest our time and money in.  I have a friend who's goal for the year was to buy an S-class Benz.  It frightened me, because he doesn't own any property.  In my mind, and the way I've been trained, you definitely want more assets than liabilities.  Which can also be translated as focusing on things that appreciate.  Cars depreciate as soon as you drive them off the lot.  From my experience, paying rent is oftentimes more expensive than the average mortgage.  However, I understand that owning property may not be a priority or even feasible for some people.  Back to my point though, who are we trying to impress?  The people watching?  Who's watching people?