Here’s Something About Me: Shoes
So, I’m at this work meeting the other day. It was a fantastic presentation about EDI (Equality, Diversity, Inclusion) and the workplace. At one point one of the guest lecturers mentioned an exercise they do where they ask the participants to bring in their favorite pair of shoes.
This exercise allows people to share something incredibly personal with their co-workers. The shoes are a not only a representation of one’s style and taste but also an illustration of how one moves through the world. What is your chosen way to experience life, to travel the world? What shoes do you want with you on your journey?
These sorts of questions are meant to illuminate.
Of course, this got me thinking about my theater studies. In theater there’s a thing called “character shoes.” The idea is that actors need to fully inhabit the character you’re playing. And one of the fastest and best ways to do so is to wear the shoes that your character would wear during rehearsals. Every actor I’ve ever known does this. Every director advocates for it. And it makes sense. Shoes change your posture, the way you stand and move, and how comfortable you are in any given seat of circumstances.
Okay, but, so, here’s a thing about me . . . I don’t give a shit about shoes.
I don’t have a favorite pair. I don’t think I’ve ever had a favorite pair. Maybe back in the fifth/sixth grade when I rocked those Chuck Taylor’s with the Batman logo all over them. Those were pretty rad. I wore the hell out of those.
When I was studying to be an actor I never gave a second thought to character shoes, If my designers and/or directors insisted I’d wear them. But I didn’t need them or want them. I never felt like shoes unlocked anything about a character to me. Maybe that’s because I’ve never had any real-life preference for footwear. Shoes are never on my mind.
As a runner, I found a pair of Asics in my size and I’ve never tried another brand. I just switch up to the newest version of the Nimbus when my old pair blows out. They feel good on my feet and I like the way I run in them. I’ve seen no need to switch up.
I walk. Like, a lot. It’s not uncommon for me to get 100,000 + steps per week. When I have a day off from work, I wear four or five different pairs of shoes to walk in. When I have to go into work, there’s another three or four pairs of work/dress shoes that I rotate into the mix. I walk at least 5 miles in any of those various pairs. Dress shoes, sneakers, slip-ons, casual, it doesn’t matter. I move through the world in all of them and I find them all … just fine.
We were not asked to bring in our favorite pair to the EDI seminar I attended. But if I had been, I’m really not sure what I would have done. All of this to say, I’m learning a lot about myself these days. I’ve had multiple self-discovery moments in the last few weeks and they’ve each been fascinating. What do any of these discoveries say about me?
Whatever it says, it can’t be good. Right?
I mentioned this to a co-worker, thinking she would commiserate with me and share a friendly laugh about our flaws. But she surprised me by saying that she didn’t think it was a bad thing that I didn’t have a favorite pair of shoes. She said maybe it meant that I was adaptive and open. Maybe I was comfortable, not only in any situation, but in my own skin (insert mind-blown gif here). Maybe I was empathetic, able to walk a mile in anyone’s shoes.
Another thing about me . . . I’m too negative.
Thankfully, my perspective isn’t the only perspective.
