I learned a very valuable lesson the other day about wearing appropriate shoes to work. When I worked at the shoe store and stood for eight hours straight, you would not catch me in anything other than Sketchers or Clarks. My coworkers would often poke fun at me saying I looked like a soccer mom or dressed “mature,” but at least my feet weren’t in pain.

Now that I work at the paper and do not have to stand for eight hours straight, I have been wearing some of my shoes that are pretty, but not comfortable. Of course, working at a shoe store for nearly three years means I have racked up a good amount of shoes. Among those are wedged booties. I learned that wedges are not the best option to run down the sidewalk after a car fire or the best option to wear for more than five hours. 

I went into work one Saturday and heard that there was a car on fire that was in the downtown area. I looked it up and saw that it was very close and took off to get a picture and information. I headed that way and saw the mass amounts of smoke and knew I was in the right place, but there was not a great place to park. I parked at the nearest parking area that was at some living complex and I jumped out of my car and headed for the sidewalk.

In my rush to get my first-ever fire pictures, I forgot to grab the brand new lens I had just bought myself that I had been bragging about for days. That lens would have really helped me get a picture because it zooms in very far, but I was in a hurry and my brain apparently stopped working. 

It is important to note that I chose to wear wedged booties that day, and had to half run half jog down the sidewalk toward the car fire. It was not fun and I looked ridiculous. I later attended a fall festival where I stood for a very long time and even continued to stand in those shoes after I left. The ball of my foot was swollen that night and in a lot of pain, but it was totally my fault. I learned that reporters should not wear wedged booties.

I also learned my lesson about wearing sandals in the summer time or when I have to do some fast walking. When I covered the Homecoming Parade I had on a pair of Sketchers sandals. I ended up having to do a lot of speed walking that day and at one point even got a tree branch stuck in them that did some damage to my foot. I also ended up with blisters on my foot from where my shoe was rubbing from walking like that. 

I should have known better because my very first day at MTSU, I gave myself horrible blisters while wearing knock-off Birkenstocks and fast walking to the classes I couldn’t find. The point is, tennis shoes are about to become my best friend.  

Standard reporter Bethany Porter can be reached at 473-2191.