Shoes.

Let me just stress something for everyone who is unaware: there is nothing more important than comfortable shoes. I could argue this point until the day I die, because this week has been hell for my feet.

Last week I was scorned by my classmates for being able to stick my fingers through the holes in the bottoms of my crappy Wal-Mart kitchen shoes that I have had for over three years. They were good shoes to me. They never hurt my feet, they were non-slip (at least for awhile), and they were less than $30. How could you ask for more? However, even I realize that shoes with holes in soles are not appropriate for kitchen wear. Not only is it unsafe, it's pretty unsanitary as well. I decided that on Saturday I was going to purchase new chef shoes.

I originally had my heart set on Dansko's (they're like...the nicest kitchen shoes ever, or something), but I really really really did not want to spend $150 on a pair of shoes that will inevitably end up having flour, eggs, and other miscellaneous food items splattered all over them. Additionally, I have no source of income right now, and my bank account is starting to look pretty thin. Instead of going to look for Dansko's, I ended up at DSW. I walked over to the kitchen shoe aisle and immediately pulled out my phone to look up reviews for every brand in the store. I found only a few negative ones, but most of the shoes had pretty good write-ups. After nearly an hour of trying on clogs, mary janes, heeled shoes, flat shoes, and nearly every other kind of shoe, I settled on some low-heeled clogs by BOS.

This is where I will tell you that this purchase was one of the worst in my life. I didn't realize until Tuesday that I had made such an awful choice, but throughout my 6.5 hour kitchen class I struggled. I ended up having to sit down to keep myself from crying from the pain in my feet. After class, I walked/hobbled/half-crawled back to my dorm barefooted. It was finally when I got back to the dorm and realized that I could not even stand long enough to take a 10-minute shower that I panicked: I had already thrown my Wal-Mart shoes in the trashcan.

Wednesday was no better. At the beginning of class I felt a twinge of hope because my feet hurt a little less than the day before; I assumed this meant that they were forming to fit my feet. I was completely wrong. By the end of that class I WAS crying. I had tears rolling down my cheeks as I tried, with as much dignity as possible, to make the trek back to my dorm. I ended up coming up to my room, getting in the shower, curling up in a ball, and staring at my purple toenails in horror for nearly half an hour. The next morning I woke up to find my toenails still a light violet color, and my feet swollen up to nearly twice their size.

I don't have any choice at this school about whether or not I can attend class. I lose a letter grade every time I miss, so I jumped out of bed, yelped from the pain, and stumbled into the bathroom to get ready. It was then I remembered that my Wal-Mart shoes were still in the trashcan. So I dug. It was shameful, and it certainly did not help my already fragile emotional state, but I rummaged until I pulled those shoes out of the trash. I didn't even care that their home had been a toss bucket (Ruchi's word) for the past three days. I could not have been happier to wear them.

My feet finally feel better today. I'm walking more normally, and I no longer fear the loss of my toenails. I will not, however, be wearing the BOCs again. Dealing with that much pain for over 6 hours in a kitchen is nearly soul-shattering.

Moral of the story? Buy shoes that you know will support your feet. Ask your classmates and chefs which brands they prefer and listen to them. Don't be an idiot. I'm here to learn lessons for you people, so heed my advice.