Barefoot Interview #3: USA's Shanniah
There are many different people from all over the world who like going barefoot. Some people like doing it as a hobby. On the other hand, other people who go barefoot as a tradition or as a part of their culture. Apparently, there are many who like going barefoot are unable to share their stories. So, this will be a long interviewing series and talking to people who are from all over and let them speak about their barefooting. So, welcome the newest barefoot interviewee, Shanniah. She is (currently) a 20 year old college gap student who is born in Boston and resides in Cleveland. Here is what Shanniah had to say about what she likes about being barefoot.
What inspired you to go barefoot?
I started so young (I never wore shoes 24/7, but I started abandoning shoes almost entirely at around 7-8 years old) that I don't remember any particular inspiration. Mainly I just did it because I liked the feel of the ground under my feet and it gave me better balance and traction. There were several acres of woods behind my house and I would walk barefoot in them all the time. By the time I was ten or so I was going almost everywhere barefoot, only excluding long stretches in snow and inside buildings other than houses.
What are some of the reasons you like going barefoot?
I always feel steadier on my feet when I can feel the ground underneath them. I also like the freedom; when I have to put on shoes for one reason or another my feet feel constricted and awkward. I always, ALWAYS drive barefoot; I drive a manual transmission and I don't think I'd even be able to get into gear if I tried it with shoes on. I can't imagine driving without being able to feel the pedals; to me it would be like trying to type with heavy winter gloves on.
Name some places you like going barefoot.
My favourite terrain to walk on barefoot is dirt. My ankles get sore if I walk too long on pavement and in summer there are often bees lurking in grass, but when I walk on dirt I can see everything I'm going to step on, and the ground is soft and easy on the joints. I particularly like to take long walks off-trail in the woods, especially in fall.
Where would you like to try and go barefoot that you haven't done so?
I have always wanted to visit a foreign country that's more barefoot-friendly than America--or possibly an American state that's more barefoot-friendly, like Hawaii. For now, I just content myself with trying new stores and restaurants hoping to find ones that don't mind my bare feet.
Why do you think people should go barefoot more often besides at home and the beach?
For me it's always meant healthier feet, better balance and healthier joints in general. I have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to leave their feet to stew in their own juices inside stiff prisons all day.
Give us a story of a time you went barefoot and had a lot of fun doing it.
I don't remember exactly where it was, but when I was about 11 or 12 my family went on vacation to a national park and we took a long hike (13 miles) up a mountain. I walked the entire way barefoot, and although my dad insisted on bringing my shoes along thinking I would need them eventually, I completed the whole hike without them. I remember it particularly because we passed a lot of other people on the lower half of the trail and many of them commented on my bare feet. One woman even angrily scolded my parents for letting me go barefoot on such 'dangerous' terrain! We just laughed at her.
Why do you think some stores have banned going barefoot?
I have heard that it started as a means to keep vagrants from coming in and loitering (although I've never seen a barefoot vagrant), but nowadays I think most places that do it are either 'following the crowd' (or so they think) or under the impression that if someone comes in barefoot and gets hurt, they will be liable for it.
If possible, please share any of your barefooting experiences.
Most of my interesting barefoot experiences have to do with Wal-Mart. Of the few businesses I regularly go into, Wal-Mart is the only one that's ever given me trouble for going barefoot. Since I learned for certain that there was no store policy requiring shoes, I always go into Wal-Mart barefoot, but the lack of a rule doesn't stop me from being harassed now and then. More than once, I have had managers lie to me and say that they KNOW there is a rule, that they have an order from the health department or that there is usually a NSNSNS sign and it's missing. Sometimes it's almost funny how little they try to mask their lies. More often, though, they simply claim that they will be legally responsible if I get hurt because of going barefoot. One time, though, I had a much better experience with two night managers; they stopped me as usual and claimed there was a rule, but when I told them I knew that was not the case and asked them to check, they did so, and when they came back a few minutes later they told me that I was correct and that I could go on my way. Life would be a lot easier for us barefooters if all employees were that honest.
Since going barefoot is healthy, why do you think people deny it?
I doubt that most people think much about it. Many clothing conventions are so ingrained in people's minds that they just never question them. And even if they do, society is so set in its ways clothing-wise that it's difficult to fight those conventions without personal and professional repercussions. And these days there's also the matter of paranoia--many people I've talked to think they'll get germs or hurt themselves if they go barefoot in public places.
Finish this analogy: Someone who does not want to go barefoot is like...
...a penguin that insists on wearing a wetsuit.
What would you say to someone who thinking going barefoot is gross?
I would tell him to smell my feet, then smell his own and dare him to say that again!
Conclusion.
I do thank Shanniah for taking her time answering these questions and as well as supporting that going barefoot is actually a good and healthy thing. Tune in next time when someone else in another country talks about their likes on barefooting. Remember, speak your mind and comment down below.
I started so young (I never wore shoes 24/7, but I started abandoning shoes almost entirely at around 7-8 years old) that I don't remember any particular inspiration. Mainly I just did it because I liked the feel of the ground under my feet and it gave me better balance and traction. There were several acres of woods behind my house and I would walk barefoot in them all the time. By the time I was ten or so I was going almost everywhere barefoot, only excluding long stretches in snow and inside buildings other than houses.
What are some of the reasons you like going barefoot?
I always feel steadier on my feet when I can feel the ground underneath them. I also like the freedom; when I have to put on shoes for one reason or another my feet feel constricted and awkward. I always, ALWAYS drive barefoot; I drive a manual transmission and I don't think I'd even be able to get into gear if I tried it with shoes on. I can't imagine driving without being able to feel the pedals; to me it would be like trying to type with heavy winter gloves on.
Name some places you like going barefoot.
My favourite terrain to walk on barefoot is dirt. My ankles get sore if I walk too long on pavement and in summer there are often bees lurking in grass, but when I walk on dirt I can see everything I'm going to step on, and the ground is soft and easy on the joints. I particularly like to take long walks off-trail in the woods, especially in fall.
Where would you like to try and go barefoot that you haven't done so?
I have always wanted to visit a foreign country that's more barefoot-friendly than America--or possibly an American state that's more barefoot-friendly, like Hawaii. For now, I just content myself with trying new stores and restaurants hoping to find ones that don't mind my bare feet.
Why do you think people should go barefoot more often besides at home and the beach?
For me it's always meant healthier feet, better balance and healthier joints in general. I have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to leave their feet to stew in their own juices inside stiff prisons all day.
Give us a story of a time you went barefoot and had a lot of fun doing it.
I don't remember exactly where it was, but when I was about 11 or 12 my family went on vacation to a national park and we took a long hike (13 miles) up a mountain. I walked the entire way barefoot, and although my dad insisted on bringing my shoes along thinking I would need them eventually, I completed the whole hike without them. I remember it particularly because we passed a lot of other people on the lower half of the trail and many of them commented on my bare feet. One woman even angrily scolded my parents for letting me go barefoot on such 'dangerous' terrain! We just laughed at her.
Why do you think some stores have banned going barefoot?
I have heard that it started as a means to keep vagrants from coming in and loitering (although I've never seen a barefoot vagrant), but nowadays I think most places that do it are either 'following the crowd' (or so they think) or under the impression that if someone comes in barefoot and gets hurt, they will be liable for it.
If possible, please share any of your barefooting experiences.
Most of my interesting barefoot experiences have to do with Wal-Mart. Of the few businesses I regularly go into, Wal-Mart is the only one that's ever given me trouble for going barefoot. Since I learned for certain that there was no store policy requiring shoes, I always go into Wal-Mart barefoot, but the lack of a rule doesn't stop me from being harassed now and then. More than once, I have had managers lie to me and say that they KNOW there is a rule, that they have an order from the health department or that there is usually a NSNSNS sign and it's missing. Sometimes it's almost funny how little they try to mask their lies. More often, though, they simply claim that they will be legally responsible if I get hurt because of going barefoot. One time, though, I had a much better experience with two night managers; they stopped me as usual and claimed there was a rule, but when I told them I knew that was not the case and asked them to check, they did so, and when they came back a few minutes later they told me that I was correct and that I could go on my way. Life would be a lot easier for us barefooters if all employees were that honest.
Since going barefoot is healthy, why do you think people deny it?
I doubt that most people think much about it. Many clothing conventions are so ingrained in people's minds that they just never question them. And even if they do, society is so set in its ways clothing-wise that it's difficult to fight those conventions without personal and professional repercussions. And these days there's also the matter of paranoia--many people I've talked to think they'll get germs or hurt themselves if they go barefoot in public places.
Finish this analogy: Someone who does not want to go barefoot is like...
...a penguin that insists on wearing a wetsuit.
What would you say to someone who thinking going barefoot is gross?
I would tell him to smell my feet, then smell his own and dare him to say that again!
Conclusion.
I do thank Shanniah for taking her time answering these questions and as well as supporting that going barefoot is actually a good and healthy thing. Tune in next time when someone else in another country talks about their likes on barefooting. Remember, speak your mind and comment down below.
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