Barefoot Interview #17: USA's Diamond
If I have to 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, Diamond. She is (currently) a 17 year old high school student; she was born in Montgomery, Alabama and resides in Prattville, Alabama. Here is what Diamond had to say about being barefoot.
What inspired you to go barefoot?
I've always loved walking around barefoot as a child. It was very soothing and comfortable for me, and I always felt like it was something I should do normally. When I first saw my immediate family walking around the house, the backyard, the front porch, or around the pool barefoot, I was fascinated with the idea, since I rarely ever walked around barefoot unless I was at home or a family function. Now that I'm older, I can honestly say that walking around barefoot is so comfortable and almost like second nature to me.
What are some of the reasons you like going barefoot?
There are so many reasons as to why I like going barefoot. One reason is mainly because it's extremely comfortable for me. It's so relaxing to just come from a long day of school, shopping, or anything else and just take off your shoes and/or socks and wiggle those toes around and let them breathe. Another reason is feeling different textures under my feet. The sense of touch is a wonderful thing, and to feel different carpets, woods, pavings, stones, materials and/or fabrics is very soothing for me. Unless I step on a Lego... Then that's very uncomfortable for me.
Name some places you like going barefoot.
Hmm, some of the places I like going barefoot.
1. The beach, of course. Loves to feel the warm sand between my toes.
2. My house. Every room has a different type of flooring, so I love to walk around the house to feel those different textures.
3. The pool. I love to feel the warm and moist concrete pavement around the pool. Especially in the summer time. It's very soothing and calming to me, and it has a weird feeling to it.
4. My front and back yards. I love the feel of freshly cut grass, wet grass, and the driveway. Although, stepping on a stick or a stone isn't fun. At all. Haha.
5. My best friend's room. She has some type of furry carpet, and it feels so funny and cool under my feet because it's like a mixture of silk and cotton, which is weird yet tickles.
6. I've gone barefoot at school before, right after P.E. It was so hot and I wore sneakers after I showered, so I just walked to my next class without any shoes on, and let me tell you, that was one of the most comfortable things I had ever done.
7. I've gone barefoot around a whole shopping mall before. My best friend took my shoes from the dressing room I was in, and she stuffed them in her bag. Needless to say, I spent the whole day barefoot, but it was okay because everything was much more comfortable.
Where would you like to try and go barefoot that you haven't done so?
To be completely honest, I would love to try to go barefoot at an amusement park. I've never done this before, but I would like to because I think the experience would be so much better. I say this because you're walking around all day with some type of shoes on, and your feet start to hurt and feel cramped. I just feel like it'd be so much fun and so much cooler if I were able to walk around barefoot. The only disadvantage I can see is stepping in food...Yuck.
Why do you think people should go barefoot more often besides at home and the beach?
I think people should go barefoot more often besides at home and the beach because you're missing out on so many opportunities to feel so many other textures. It's more comfortable to not have cramped and uncomfortable feet when you're out at different places. I just think being barefoot is the best thing to do.
Give us a story of a time you went barefoot and had a lot of fun doing it.
My 8th grade year in junior high school, we had a Field Day at school and I made the horrible mistake of wearing sneakers. It was at least 85°F, and it was unbearable considering the fact the we were outside majority of the day. So I went inside to change into my sports shorts that I had brought because we had different activities like water balloon fights. My friends thought that it was hilarious to take my shoes and run with them, so they did while I was changing. When I came out, they were nowhere to be found. My shoes nor my friends. I was so angry, livid, FURIOUS. I started to leave the inside of the building to go find those troublemakers and most likely smack them silly with my shoes. But I noticed that as I was walking on different parts of the hallways, I was getting less and less cranky and grumpy. It was an instant change in mood as I began to realize that walking around barefoot was actually really comfortable. As I began walking outside, I started walking across the pavement and that felt so good and natural to me. So I was in an extremely better mood, and I started playing some of the games that were available. I was having so much fun, so in the end, I actually ended up thanking my friends for taking my shoes.
Why do you think some stores have banned going barefoot?
I think some stores have banned going barefoot because I get that it can be highly unsanitary, and the place could get messy very quickly. I understand their perspectives of the matter because they want to keep the place as clean and sanitized as possible.
If possible, please share any of your barefooting experiences.
- There was this one time I went to one of my dance classes, and I forgot to bring my shoes, so I had to practice barefooted.
- I was in a pageant in 2014, and I was late coming back from my lunch break, but I also had went to get my toes done because the break was for about an hour. But I didn't make it back to the hotel in time, so by the time we had our next practice, my toenails were still wet. Needless to say, I had awkward stares thrown at me because I was practicing on stage barefooted.. No socks, no shoes. Just all feet.
- I was in a tennis camp one summer, and on the day before my next class, I was walking around outside in my front yard, and I ended up stepping in a fire ant bed. It burned soooo bad. So the day of my class, I had blisters/swollen ant bites on my left foot, and it was so hot outside and it hurt so bad to wear shoes. My coach told me to lay an ice pack on it and come back out in 15 minutes. So I did, and I felt so much relief, until I went back outside into the heat. I had to play the entire day without shoes. It felt great, until tennis ball bounced on my foot.
Since going barefoot is healthy, why do you think people deny it?
I think people deny it because they find it repulsive and or unsanitary, and they don't see how it can be healthy. But these are most likely the people who've never tried it.
Finish this analogy: Someone who does not want to go barefoot is like...
...someone who doesn't want to be open-minded towards new methods of relaxation.
What would you say to someone who thinks going barefoot is gross?
I would ask them whether they've tried it or not. And if they haven't I would simply say to them, "You can't knock it until you've tried it." Most people tend to judge thinks without being open-minded to it, or never having tried it. Personally, I think going barefoot is great. Everyone should try to go barefoot in the most unexpected places(where permitted, of course).
Conclusion.
I do thank Diamond for taking the time and 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.
What inspired you to go barefoot?
I've always loved walking around barefoot as a child. It was very soothing and comfortable for me, and I always felt like it was something I should do normally. When I first saw my immediate family walking around the house, the backyard, the front porch, or around the pool barefoot, I was fascinated with the idea, since I rarely ever walked around barefoot unless I was at home or a family function. Now that I'm older, I can honestly say that walking around barefoot is so comfortable and almost like second nature to me.
What are some of the reasons you like going barefoot?
There are so many reasons as to why I like going barefoot. One reason is mainly because it's extremely comfortable for me. It's so relaxing to just come from a long day of school, shopping, or anything else and just take off your shoes and/or socks and wiggle those toes around and let them breathe. Another reason is feeling different textures under my feet. The sense of touch is a wonderful thing, and to feel different carpets, woods, pavings, stones, materials and/or fabrics is very soothing for me. Unless I step on a Lego... Then that's very uncomfortable for me.
Name some places you like going barefoot.
Hmm, some of the places I like going barefoot.
1. The beach, of course. Loves to feel the warm sand between my toes.
2. My house. Every room has a different type of flooring, so I love to walk around the house to feel those different textures.
3. The pool. I love to feel the warm and moist concrete pavement around the pool. Especially in the summer time. It's very soothing and calming to me, and it has a weird feeling to it.
4. My front and back yards. I love the feel of freshly cut grass, wet grass, and the driveway. Although, stepping on a stick or a stone isn't fun. At all. Haha.
5. My best friend's room. She has some type of furry carpet, and it feels so funny and cool under my feet because it's like a mixture of silk and cotton, which is weird yet tickles.
6. I've gone barefoot at school before, right after P.E. It was so hot and I wore sneakers after I showered, so I just walked to my next class without any shoes on, and let me tell you, that was one of the most comfortable things I had ever done.
7. I've gone barefoot around a whole shopping mall before. My best friend took my shoes from the dressing room I was in, and she stuffed them in her bag. Needless to say, I spent the whole day barefoot, but it was okay because everything was much more comfortable.
Where would you like to try and go barefoot that you haven't done so?
To be completely honest, I would love to try to go barefoot at an amusement park. I've never done this before, but I would like to because I think the experience would be so much better. I say this because you're walking around all day with some type of shoes on, and your feet start to hurt and feel cramped. I just feel like it'd be so much fun and so much cooler if I were able to walk around barefoot. The only disadvantage I can see is stepping in food...Yuck.
Why do you think people should go barefoot more often besides at home and the beach?
I think people should go barefoot more often besides at home and the beach because you're missing out on so many opportunities to feel so many other textures. It's more comfortable to not have cramped and uncomfortable feet when you're out at different places. I just think being barefoot is the best thing to do.
Give us a story of a time you went barefoot and had a lot of fun doing it.
My 8th grade year in junior high school, we had a Field Day at school and I made the horrible mistake of wearing sneakers. It was at least 85°F, and it was unbearable considering the fact the we were outside majority of the day. So I went inside to change into my sports shorts that I had brought because we had different activities like water balloon fights. My friends thought that it was hilarious to take my shoes and run with them, so they did while I was changing. When I came out, they were nowhere to be found. My shoes nor my friends. I was so angry, livid, FURIOUS. I started to leave the inside of the building to go find those troublemakers and most likely smack them silly with my shoes. But I noticed that as I was walking on different parts of the hallways, I was getting less and less cranky and grumpy. It was an instant change in mood as I began to realize that walking around barefoot was actually really comfortable. As I began walking outside, I started walking across the pavement and that felt so good and natural to me. So I was in an extremely better mood, and I started playing some of the games that were available. I was having so much fun, so in the end, I actually ended up thanking my friends for taking my shoes.
Why do you think some stores have banned going barefoot?
I think some stores have banned going barefoot because I get that it can be highly unsanitary, and the place could get messy very quickly. I understand their perspectives of the matter because they want to keep the place as clean and sanitized as possible.
If possible, please share any of your barefooting experiences.
- There was this one time I went to one of my dance classes, and I forgot to bring my shoes, so I had to practice barefooted.
- I was in a pageant in 2014, and I was late coming back from my lunch break, but I also had went to get my toes done because the break was for about an hour. But I didn't make it back to the hotel in time, so by the time we had our next practice, my toenails were still wet. Needless to say, I had awkward stares thrown at me because I was practicing on stage barefooted.. No socks, no shoes. Just all feet.
- I was in a tennis camp one summer, and on the day before my next class, I was walking around outside in my front yard, and I ended up stepping in a fire ant bed. It burned soooo bad. So the day of my class, I had blisters/swollen ant bites on my left foot, and it was so hot outside and it hurt so bad to wear shoes. My coach told me to lay an ice pack on it and come back out in 15 minutes. So I did, and I felt so much relief, until I went back outside into the heat. I had to play the entire day without shoes. It felt great, until tennis ball bounced on my foot.
Since going barefoot is healthy, why do you think people deny it?
I think people deny it because they find it repulsive and or unsanitary, and they don't see how it can be healthy. But these are most likely the people who've never tried it.
Finish this analogy: Someone who does not want to go barefoot is like...
...someone who doesn't want to be open-minded towards new methods of relaxation.
What would you say to someone who thinks going barefoot is gross?
I would ask them whether they've tried it or not. And if they haven't I would simply say to them, "You can't knock it until you've tried it." Most people tend to judge thinks without being open-minded to it, or never having tried it. Personally, I think going barefoot is great. Everyone should try to go barefoot in the most unexpected places(where permitted, of course).
Conclusion.
I do thank Diamond for taking the time and 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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