The Hidden Messages Discovered In A Candy Store

The location I chose is Campus Candy located on University Blvd. The atmosphere of the campus candy store is very positive and energetic. The colors of the store consist of lime green, pink and white as well as a variety of colors brought in by the assortments of candy. They have tables, chairs, and booths with multiple televisions to create a relaxed and fun place for kids and adults to hang out and enjoy themselves. As a customer you walk in and are greeted by the employees, allowing us to feel welcomed.  The music playing once you walk into the store is very upbeat, positive, and energetic allowing you to feel good and confident when purchasing and choosing your candy. I chose this location because it is new to University Blvd. and I was curious on the types of customers candy stores consist of as well as what I could learn from observing this location. Taking the time on a Thursday and Saturday afternoon to sit and examine the store allowed me to have a better understanding of the customers and what the store provides for them. The photos I’ve selected are in chronological order of a human’s life from being a child to an elderly adult. I chose this order to provide a visual view of what age has to do with understanding life experiences. As a child gets older they continue to learn more and more. Each of these photos taken within the candy store represent a life lesson everyone can relate to throughout their personal experiences. The candy store is seen not only to satisfy a sweet tooth but rather a place for people of various ages to discover something they might have not known before.

In this photo taken at the candy store, also known as Campus Candy, is of a grandmother and granddaughter on a Saturday outing to get some sweets. The grandmother is going through each type of candy to see which ones her granddaughter is most interested in. The grandmother is showing a sense of comfort and care, as the young girl is shy and afraid to pick out the candy for herself. The grandmother was giving her granddaughter a sense of direction on what type of candy she may like. As a life lesson seen from this photo, the candy could relate or resemble real life choices that children need to make through out their lives. In order to succeed and learn from these choices, they are guided in certain directions due to their parent’s thoughts and actions. This is an early stage of development that this photo portrays to me. Without guidance we would not be who we are today, we would not think the way that we do even act the way that we are. It is beneficial to have influential and older loved ones through out your life to help make situations more clear and understanding so that you can accomplish them no matter what the circumstance may be. This photograph is centered in on the grandmother reaching into the container to get her granddaughter a specific candy. The rest of the candy begins to go into a blur as you focus in on and observe the grandmother’s body language. In this image, I see a wonderful grandmother doing what she can to make her little granddaughter happy as well as create memories and bonding experiences. The grandmother’s love is shown by her gestures of help; which a majority of people may take for granite and forget about the little doings people do to show that they care. The Candy Store in this case is a positive environment due to the life lessons being learned. Many people can pass up this outlook on the photo but in the end once you observe and understand; I am sure you will be able to think of an experience that someone close to you was influential to your decisions.

          This photo was taken around 1:30 on a Saturday afternoon; there is a mother who looks to have brought her two daughters to the candy store for some treats. The mother in the photo is stepping back and allowing her daughters a sense of independence being able to pick and chose the types and amount of candy that they want. When watching the two little girls, they were so excited to be able to make these choices on their own; however, it didn’t stop them from running back and forth between the candy and their mother to present to her what they were getting. The two little girls would discuss with one another which type of candies were their favorites to compare and either agree or disagree with each other. Not only are these girls spending their Saturday afternoon with their mother but they are also being rewarded for doing good in whatever situation they might have been in previously that day. As a way to teach children parents tend to reward them after they have behaved properly in a public environment. This proper behavior is learned from previous experiences through out a person’s family. To tie into life lessons, this experience between the two girls and the mother shows what every family has to go through with children. Every parent through out a child’s life has to let them somewhat go, to live and experience things on their own. Situations such as these are what create independence. The mother is allowing herself to trust her children to do things on their own. This can imply to parents with kids in high school, which is a time where they have to start backing off. This is what gives their kids a sense of independence and teaches them how to grow up before they are off into the big world. As we grow up we are only able to fully develop our independence by being given the opportunity to make choices and do things on our own. This picture can be a reasurement to parents allowing them to see how gradually giving their children the ability to be independent will only be beneficial in the long run. 

In this photo taken at Campus Candy around 3:30 pm on a Saturday shows that this could possibly be one of the busiest times of their days. The cashier standing in the middle of the store is the center of this photograph. It goes to show how he is in charge greeting and making sure those who have questions will be answered. This photo not only shows the people spending their Saturday afternoon getting candy but it also shows that the employees are focused and doing their job. To have a successful business it is always a must to have hard working as well as friendly employees and this picture gives off that vibe. This photo shows the candy store as a positive place because they are getting a thriving amount of business. To observe a bit more we can see that this photo is of a college student employed at the candy store. A life lesson can too be taken out of this photo. When a child grows up and then heads off to college to accomplish his or her dreams they most likely will be successful if they have had work experience. From this photo we are shown a college student learning responsibility and adapting to an environment with all different types of people. In peoples everyday lives we are faced with people we like and dislike; however, to handle the situations properly you must know and understand how to communicate and react to these individuals. When a college student gets a job it allows them to take on their true selves and flaunt their positive assets to not only benefit themselves but the people around them. Taking on responsibility such as this cashier is in this photo will not only make him a better employee but also a more successful well rounded human being. This should help encourage the younger individuals to take charge and allow themselves to be put in a situation such as this to better their work ethics for the future.

This photo was taken around 1:30 on a Thursday, it is not that crowded; however, it is a time for an older couple to add some excitement to their day. The older couple in this photo are discussing whether or not they should get more candy and or what kind of candy they may want to eat. Not everyone has the same personality meaning not everyone is going to want the same type of candy even if you’re married to the person. This photo is centered on the couple contemplating on what decision to make. The husband might have made a remark to get more candy, which made the wife turn around and explain to him why or why not, that can or cannot be done. In this photo there is an elderly couple discussing the amount of candy they should get. The husband wants more; however, the wife insists they have enough. The wife is only giving her input for the better because she knows in the end they will both regret getting as much candy as they did. A life lesson to take from this picture is an understanding of communication, beneficial to not only young adults but elderly adults as well. In a person’s everyday life you need to have that someone who can be as honest as possible, to either prevent you from doing things in the future that may cause problems and or negotiate to help make the situation more positive. When you have people that you love and trust in your life such as this couple, you are able to loosen up and have some fun not always being completely serious. When there becomes conflict between co-workers, friends, parents, boyfriends, girlfriends, and spouses, their relationships should act as this older couple. The couple was able to come to an agreement, which in the end bettered the both of them. To only improve on your relationships, it is valuable to know that instead of constantly arguing, negotiate with one another to help prevent future problems.

Overall, all these photos chronologically tie together to allow a person who has never been to the store before understand what the experience might be like. I incorporated the employees as well as the types of customers that come in to give a full understanding. No matter what a persons age may be, the candy store will always create a feeling that brings the kid out them. After allowing myself to look more in depth of what the candy store may represent or mean, not only gave me the idea to relate each picture to real life lessons. But it also showed me that, every person has a unique personality and watching each person choose their candy gave me a sense of what their personalities could possibly be like, from sweet to sour candies to chocolate and salty creations.