Lesson Learned

We did it. On Thursday students were showing up to class barefoot all over campus. Two hundred and fifty people were spotted shoeless at our Brumby Beach event alone! We jumped, danced, ate, colored and played in the perfect spring weather.

Halfway through a walk from Brumby Beach to the arch, my tender, winter feet began to feel some major pain. I stubbed my toes, burnt my feet on the pavement, cringed through the rocky parts and did a small jig when I made it to the cool tile of the MLC. In short, I'm spoiled. My walk was only for about 30 minutes and all I could think of were the children who walk barefoot for miles. That’s a powerful way to realize how much we take for granted.

Together the TOMS Shoes team increased awareness of the company's mission and of the 40 percent of the world that goes without wearing shoes every day. I’ve been working with TOMS Shoes for months now, but never before was its message more apparent to me than it was on Thursday.

Thank you to those who came out to Brumby Beach and sacrificed a little bit of comfort to walk in the steps of those who go barefoot every day.