A day without shoes

You wouldn't believe it unless you saw it with your own eyes...I walked around for two days inside and outside of the house BAREFOOT!!!!

April 5th was official "One Day Without Shoes". It's an international campaign by Tom's Shoes. The Tom's model is for ever pair of shoes you purchase they donate a pair to a child. Where that child lives or how they get the shoes I'm not totally sure. So anyway I heard about this through a Wake Forest facebook invite and thought it was kind of a cool advocacy event. Keep in mind I'm the same person who refuses to touch anything in the YMCA locker room and has tidy routines in public restrooms. But then I thought about the fact that for millions of people shoes are not an option...so I did it.

Not only did I do it, but I did it twice. April 5th they were predicted severe storms to Wake changed their event to the 4th. It was challenging enough to decide to walk around the street and office with no shoes on let alone do that in puddles, so I went barefoot on Monday. From the time I got out of bed to the time I got back into bed. I made myself a sticker at the office and told my department what I was doing. They picked on me a little for not doing it on the 5th because of bad weather. It wasn't as bad as I thought. After much hesitation I even went to the office bathroom with no shoes (ahhh!). I felt so moved by the experience that I was willing to try it again even if it rained. My motivation for the day: some of my cousins in Ghana who grew up going many "days without shoes".

Day two was kind of rainy but not awful. Here is the best part, Katie and Susan walked in the office with no shoes on!!! They joked about it the day before but I didn't think they were serious. It was one of my most memorable office moments to see them strut in barefoot from the car.

Ever since that day I've walked around a lot more without shoes. Not every where and not every day, but little things like this morning I walked outside a couple times with no shoes. Other days I take my shoes off in the office. I'm thankful for the new found freedom that comes from realizing that I am so privileged to have choices. It might not be that serious to most but taking of my shoes for those two days was really humbling for me.


The best is yet to come,
~Adwoa