Crocs In Society
I wear the ugliest shoe in America by choice; however, I wear my shoes with my head held high (Pattern 1A). I have always been a fan of Crocs ever since I reached the young age of five. The rubber molded to my feet in indescribable ways and always allowed me to combine comfort, adventure, and fashion. Spring, summer, winter, fall- overall wear them anytime of the year (Pattern 6). Today, Crocs are slowly becoming the norm in our society with hundreds of new designs and colors coming out each year.
Recently, Crocs have become synonymous with words such as ‘tacky’, ‘heinous’, and ‘ugly’. Sadly, this wasn’t always the way Crocs were perceived. In 2008, kids weren’t cool in elementary school unless they owned a pair of Crocs. Children wore them, parents wore them, even great great grandmoms were wearing them. Though great trends never last long and the Croc fad lasted four or five years until their decline in the stock market in 2012. After that, people put their happy memories with their Crocs in the back of their mind and started to pretend like they never existed, myself included. …show more content…
On August 27, 2016 I purchased my second pair of Crocs- I was in love (Pattern 2A).
Still trying to avoid the backlash that comes with the shoes, I decided to keep the color conservative and hope that they were unnoticeable to others. Once I wore my Crocs home, I knew my life was instantly changed. Wearing Crocs can make one feel excited yet scared, confident yet afraid, fearless yet doubtful (Pattern 5). I worried about other’s opinions at first, but very quickly my uneasiness melted away and the black clogs were my go-to shoe for school, walking around the house, running errands, and especially on the pool deck before and after water polo games. I gained “a sense of cool for being brave enough to wear them in public”
(Alsever).
While I was in love with my Crocs, it was safe to say that many other people were not. I would receive an innumerable amount of disgusted glares while inside and outside of school. My friends made jokes about them, my family made cracks about them, and people I didn’t even know made fun of my Crocs. I knew that “these days it's arguably as fashionable to bash them as it is to wear them” (Markles). I was starting to feel ashamed and embarrassed. I wanted to hide my shoes in my closet and pretend that I never bought them, let alone wore them. So I did. I stopped wearing my Crocs for about two weeks and though that doesn’t seem like a great deal of time, it felt like years. I exchanged my black beauties for my basic brown flip flops.
I soon found that two weeks would be torture and all I wanted to do was put on my shiny black clogs- I was too ashamed. I was too afraid until a little voice in the back of my mind told me to forget the glares; I should be able to wear what I want to wear. That was enough for me. I pulled my Crocs out from hiding and wore them to school that Monday and ran straight into the world of stares and comments. I don’t regret a thing. My second time wearing Crocs, I vowed I wouldn’t give into other people’s opinions. I have now been wearing my Crocs to school for about seven months and over those seven months, I have learned countless valuable life lessons.
Being a teenage girl, I rely on other people’s opinions and just like most I go out of my way to find validation from my peers. Sixteen-year-old girls are quick to judge and make comments bringing down the one’s they don’t think are on their level. I was not on their level due to my shoe choice. I heard people whispering to their friends about my Crocs after I walked past them in the hallways and consequently, I learned to not care. I have learned that I should not consume myself with other people’s opinions of me, especially their opinions of my shoes. People are going to judge other people for the rest of human existence and I am glad that I have avoided years of stress and sadness by simply wearing something that is ‘unacceptable’ to today’s society. Recently I even went out of my way to ditch my conservative black Crocs and mix it up with a pair of pastel pink perfection. My newest pink Crocs draw attention to myself as well as share a bit of my personality. To further jazz them up, my Crocs have every single hole filled with Jibbitz, Crocs’ line of charms to customize and decorate their clogs. Some of my Jibbitz include Disney princesses and characters, flowers, hearts, and food.
Today, my friends and peers associate me with my Crocs and have adjusted to seeing them around the building. I now bring attention to my shoes and flaunt them like they’re the newest pair of Louboutins. Friends have come up to me in school saying ‘Emma, you pull off your Crocs so well, I wish I had that confidence.”
Their compliments make me smile but also make me frustrated knowing that people are still struggling with keeping themselves under control of the status quo. I am forever grateful that I have overthrown the dictator of society and became my own confident and independent person. My Crocs helped me overcome insecurities and have helped me learn that I shouldn’t be afraid of other people's opinions of myself, and neither should you.
Recently, Crocs have become synonymous with words such as ‘tacky’, ‘heinous’, and ‘ugly’. Sadly, this wasn’t always the way Crocs were perceived. In 2008, kids weren’t cool in elementary school unless they owned a pair of Crocs. Children wore them, parents wore them, even great great grandmoms were wearing them. Though great trends never last long and the Croc fad lasted four or five years until their decline in the stock market in 2012. After that, people put their happy memories with their Crocs in the back of their mind and started to pretend like they never existed, myself included. …show more content…
On August 27, 2016 I purchased my second pair of Crocs- I was in love (Pattern 2A).
Still trying to avoid the backlash that comes with the shoes, I decided to keep the color conservative and hope that they were unnoticeable to others. Once I wore my Crocs home, I knew my life was instantly changed. Wearing Crocs can make one feel excited yet scared, confident yet afraid, fearless yet doubtful (Pattern 5). I worried about other’s opinions at first, but very quickly my uneasiness melted away and the black clogs were my go-to shoe for school, walking around the house, running errands, and especially on the pool deck before and after water polo games. I gained “a sense of cool for being brave enough to wear them in public”
(Alsever).
While I was in love with my Crocs, it was safe to say that many other people were not. I would receive an innumerable amount of disgusted glares while inside and outside of school. My friends made jokes about them, my family made cracks about them, and people I didn’t even know made fun of my Crocs. I knew that “these days it's arguably as fashionable to bash them as it is to wear them” (Markles). I was starting to feel ashamed and embarrassed. I wanted to hide my shoes in my closet and pretend that I never bought them, let alone wore them. So I did. I stopped wearing my Crocs for about two weeks and though that doesn’t seem like a great deal of time, it felt like years. I exchanged my black beauties for my basic brown flip flops.
I soon found that two weeks would be torture and all I wanted to do was put on my shiny black clogs- I was too ashamed. I was too afraid until a little voice in the back of my mind told me to forget the glares; I should be able to wear what I want to wear. That was enough for me. I pulled my Crocs out from hiding and wore them to school that Monday and ran straight into the world of stares and comments. I don’t regret a thing. My second time wearing Crocs, I vowed I wouldn’t give into other people’s opinions. I have now been wearing my Crocs to school for about seven months and over those seven months, I have learned countless valuable life lessons.
Being a teenage girl, I rely on other people’s opinions and just like most I go out of my way to find validation from my peers. Sixteen-year-old girls are quick to judge and make comments bringing down the one’s they don’t think are on their level. I was not on their level due to my shoe choice. I heard people whispering to their friends about my Crocs after I walked past them in the hallways and consequently, I learned to not care. I have learned that I should not consume myself with other people’s opinions of me, especially their opinions of my shoes. People are going to judge other people for the rest of human existence and I am glad that I have avoided years of stress and sadness by simply wearing something that is ‘unacceptable’ to today’s society. Recently I even went out of my way to ditch my conservative black Crocs and mix it up with a pair of pastel pink perfection. My newest pink Crocs draw attention to myself as well as share a bit of my personality. To further jazz them up, my Crocs have every single hole filled with Jibbitz, Crocs’ line of charms to customize and decorate their clogs. Some of my Jibbitz include Disney princesses and characters, flowers, hearts, and food.
Today, my friends and peers associate me with my Crocs and have adjusted to seeing them around the building. I now bring attention to my shoes and flaunt them like they’re the newest pair of Louboutins. Friends have come up to me in school saying ‘Emma, you pull off your Crocs so well, I wish I had that confidence.”
Their compliments make me smile but also make me frustrated knowing that people are still struggling with keeping themselves under control of the status quo. I am forever grateful that I have overthrown the dictator of society and became my own confident and independent person. My Crocs helped me overcome insecurities and have helped me learn that I shouldn’t be afraid of other people's opinions of myself, and neither should you.