Shoes to carry around the world!! A thought I wish I had sooner. One that only occurred to me after I had done the bulk of my traveling. This is probably not a new thought, but one I want to share nonetheless. I am not a super sentimental person. I do not need a lot of keepsakes. When traveling, a postcard or two is good for me. Although I am practical in this way, I like to find ways to remember my travel experiences. So I thought to myself, what is one great way to remember everywhere I have traveled? One that doesn’t require buying a bunch of expensive souvenirs? That’s when I considered using shoes. Shoes are something we use all the time. When traveling they are one of the most important parts of our outfits. Depending on where we are going, what we are doing, the shoes we wear make or break the experience.
The Shoe as a Souvenir
Why not make a souvenir out of the shoes themselves? Buy a durable pair of shoes, and treat them like a passport. This is definitely a choose your own adventure assignment. However, I will give you an example. For my next adventures I want to get white converse (I know…not the most comfortable shoe). Wherever I go I’ll bring them along with. This doesn’t mean I have to wear them 24/7. For each city, town, place, hole in the wall, waterfall, theme park, etc. I visit, I will write the name down on my converse. It can be as simple as black sharpie, and 5th grade handwriting. So if I visit say, the Grand Canyon, on my white converse, I will write “The Grand Canyon” in sharpie. This could also be done using different colors, different types of pens etc. Like I said, do your thing. I’m not the boss of you.
Other Examples
You could be yawning right now, bored at my basic idea. A sharpie and a pair of converse? Unimpressed. You can design your shoes to reflect your travel experiences anyway you want. If you find converse tacky, replace them with your favorite brand of shoe. Use patches you buy at different locations and attach them to your shoes. If you want to go above and beyond, utilize cross stitching on your shoes to commemorate your travels. This craft is yours my friend.
Not Your Thing?
If I haven’t convinced you that shoes to carry around the world is a great idea, I can live with that. I still suggest that you commemorate your travels somehow. I collect postcards, and the occasional smashed penny. When I was traveling Europe, I celebrated visiting each new country by eating at McDonalds. You’d be surprised how different the menu is from country to country. Some people get stickers from every place they’ve been. Or a rock, or a mug, or a t-shirt, the list goes on. Whatever you do, I recommend you do something. Down the line, long after the memories of your travels have faded, those commemorations will be there to help you remember.
Interested in More?
Lucky for you, I have it!!
