You know that anxiety dream where you show up for work or school naked? Everyone has had it at some time or the other, right? Wrong. I never have. Instead, my anxieties have manifested themselves a little further south in my dreams, and, no, I do not mean in Florida or Brazil. I mean in my feet. In my typical anxiety dream, I show up to high school sans my shoes and spend the entire day being laughed at while I try to remember my locker combination. I still have that dream sometimes, even though I haven't stepped foot in a high school since 1994, no pun intended.If I had to come up with a reason why my nighttime angst is centered around my feet, I would have to say it's because of Camp Okitayakani. I spent a week there one summer in the third grade. I brought home a suitcase full of crafts, dirty clothes, and an agonizing case of athlete's foot. It was horrible. My toes would crack and bleed every time I moved them. I could not wear sandals for most of the summer because my feet were so disgusting looking, and my mom had to eventually throw away some of my closed toe shoes, including my favorite pink moccasins, to keep the infection from coming back. In other words, my summer was nothing like this:
Ever since then, I've been a little OCD about where I place my bare feet. I'll walk barefooted at the beach, in my house, or even to the mailbox, but you'll never catch me pulling a Britney Spears and walking barefoot into a gas station bathroom. Do you know how many germs are in there? I could get athlete's foot again, tetanus, or a flesh eating virus. Heck, my feet might even rot off.Luckily, I live in a country where you can get a pair of flip flops for a dollar or two, even for my size five foot. Sure, given their small size, the flip flops might be found in the growing girls' section of the shoe store and have cartoon characters on them, but at least they're there. Not everyone can say that they have the same easy access to shoes. In many parts of the third world, children walk all day long on bare feet because they can't afford shoes, flip flops or otherwise.
As part of International Volunteer Week, which begins on Sunday, April 19, Bilaal Rajan, the 12-year-old author of the book Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever who has already raised over $5 million for various charitable cause, has elected to go without shoes for an entire week. He has also issued a worldwide Barefoot Challenge. That is, he is asking people like you and me to go barefoot for at least one hour a day next week in honor of children who have no other choice but to do the same. You can do the hour wherever you want--home, work, or school. Just be sure to spread the word on why you are doing it when someone asks.
To learn more about the Rajan's challenge, just click on the video below.
Given the current state of the economy, you may not have the extra funds to give to charity, but you can still give your time and your feet to a good cause. All you have to do is reach down and slip off your shoes for a little while. Even I, with my foot-related anxiety dreams, can do that.
Here is a word of advice, however, from someone who has had to learn this lesson the hard way. Don't take your daily, shoe-free hour in a public shower. Just don't. Your toes will thank you for your discretion later.
