Highly Underrated Part Of Being Home: Showering Barefoot

Buzzy Robinson7 years ago

Whether it’s out of necessity, conformity, or prudent caution, the vast majority of college students wear sandals in the shower. Collegiate shower footwear includes traditional thong flip-flops, slimmer more deliberately tailored “shower sandals,” and the typically athletic slide-on sandals, aka “slides.”

I myself wear a pair of black and white classic Adidas slides in the shower. I’ve chosen these as my bathroom shoes for a number of reasons. First of all, they effectively repel moisture which is a big part of showering. You can’t be squish squish-ing around the crib like a damn fool in soggy sandals post-shower. Everybody knows that.

Secondly, they’re hella stylish. Our boy Adi Dassler really doesn’t get enough credit for creating a classic, modest, and understated style. Even if Kanye West is currently in the process of pissing all over it, the Adidas brand will always be one of simplicity and class. Not that style matters in a frat house prison-style group shower. It never hurts to look good, though.

Lastly, these slides are identical to the ones that I used to wear to soccer practice. This nicely reinforces the ‘washed-up high school athlete’ image that I’ve so thoroughly cultivated for myself in college. I’ve never worn my “Intramural Champions” shirt outside of the house, but, everybody can probably tell that I have a couple in my closet just by the way I carry myself. Being washed up is honestly a better look than trying hard at sports in college.

It’s been two days since I returned home from school and I have to say that I’m still getting used to the feeling of my nude feet against the hard, textured acrylic surface of the shower floor. It’s oddly similar to the feeling of walking around the lodge in leather moccasins after wearing rigid ski boots all day. You forget how to use your feet like a functioning human for a few minutes.

This is one of my favorite parts about leaving school for the summer. And please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I love college (Allen Iverson! Hakeem Olajuwon!). I’m just saying that there are certain domestic luxuries that we all forfeit upon leaving for school. It’s just the way of the road. One such luxury that I’ve always noticed (oddly more than others) is showering barefoot. It’s an indescribable feeling, especially after a full year of wearing footwear around the house pretty much constantly, whether it be slippers, sandals, sneakers, or roller skates. It’s a relief to finally let your feet breath a little.

Some college students probably occupy much nicer living environments than the one I live in, and therefore they find this column unreasonable or hyperbolic. To those people, let me just say that if I were to shower WITHOUT my Adidas slides at school, there’s no telling what would happen to me. Nobody in my house knows what would happen. Because nobody does that shit. I’m not really sure what ringworm is, and I’m not 100% certain of how scabies work, but, showering barefoot in a fraternity house seems like a surefire way to find out. I’m just not feeling that adventurous. Sorry.

Being able to walk through my home now with completely exposed feet and just step right into the shower, barely breaking stride, is a damn good feeling.

The band Blink 182 has taught us many valuable lessons over the years and one of them is that life is all about enjoying the small things. For me, being able to shower barefoot without a fear of fungus and parasites having their way with the bottoms of my feet is just one of these things that I’ve grown to appreciate about being home..

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