"Hello Rain Boots"

I have never owned rain boots until college.


Whenever it rained I guess I just toughed it out. When I finally bought rain boots it was like a whole new world…I could walk through puddles! I could walk on water! No more side stepping and looking for puddles in the dips of concrete to avoid the dreaded soggy socks.


I may also have a slight obsession with Hello Kitty. The weird thing is that I never liked Hello Kitty when I was younger, I actually thought it was for babies. When I grew up I got strangely obsessed with it and to this day I'm not exactly sure why. Seeing Hello Kitty merchandise in stores immediately turns me into an eight year old girl with a squealing baby voice. My mom and I can’t get through Target without me stopping more than three times to admire Hello Kitty things.


But they really do have anything Hello Kitty at Target: pajama pants, posters, hair clips, t-shirts, purses, duct tape, and microwaves...I’m not even kidding.

I had been searching for the perfect rain boots for a while. I’m not attracted to polka dots, stripes, plaid or boring solid colors when it comes to rain boots. I’m definitely not into paisley. I wanted something that screamed. I wanted a ferocious animal print or ones that had a vintage design. I’ve never been very tame with my shoe selection.

I found the Hello Kitty boots at Sears. I never shop there, but my friend Shevawn and I were walking through on the way to the car. I swear, I’m like a hound dog when it comes to Hello Kitty stuff and I sniffed the boots out from at least 3 aisles over. I stopped Shevawn in her tracks and screamed “HELLO KITTY RAIN BOOTS!” She rolled her eyes and followed me over. She used to get annoyed when I would detour for Hello Kitty memorabilia, but now she plays into it, pointing out things when I miss them. In fact, for Christmas this year she got me several Hello Kitty things, so she’s finally accepted it.

As I got closer, I realized there were only 3 pairs left. Please have my size, please have my size, please have my size. Size 11….size 9…SIZE 6! I don’t think I even tried them on or looked at the price tag.

I have never been so excited for it to rain.

Whenever I wear my rain boots, I always think of this one situation that I still wonder what would have happened if it had ended differently…

One day on campus, I used a bathroom that was way out of my normal route and that’s usually empty. It was a rainy, gray day so naturally, I was wearing my Hello Kitty boots. I went in, got into a stall and heard someone come in after me. Oh c’mon, can’t a girl get a few minutes? Not only did I have to share a dorm room bathroom with twelve other girls but now I had to share this one too? This was supposed to be the desolate bathroom.

The girl came in and went into the stall directly next to me, of course. She placed her backpack and metal lunch box on the ground and HELLO, it was a Hello Kitty. So without thinking I say, a little too loud, “I love Hello Kitty! That lunch box is so cute!”

Silence.

Then a quiet voice says, “Thanks. I love your rain boots. Where did you get them?”

“I actually got them at Sears.”

At this point, I’m fully aware of the fact that I have never seen this person. And that I am having a discussion with her about Hello Kitty underneath a bathroom stall in the campus center. It’s not that I have a problem discussing with someone I’ve never met, but the fact that we were in a bathroom suddenly made me feel really uncomfortable. Mostly it was the fact that we were going to come face to face in a couple minutes while washing hands. Why didn’t I just wait until then to tell her that her lunch box was cute?

Upon hearing her flush, I panicked. I exited the stall without ever even going to the bathroom and speedily washed my hands. As I was drying them and walking toward the door, I heard her come out of the stall and I didn’t look back. In fact, I booked it out the door and fast walked down the hallway until I felt I was far enough to slow down.

I don’t really know why I panicked or why I didn’t just wait to smile at her while washing hands or why I didn’t just stay hidden behind my stall. I’m sure she felt as weird about the situation as I did and I’m sure I made it weirder by literally running out of there.

I guess it was the fact that I had started the conversation beneath the bathroom stall about our mutual love for Hello Kitty.