There was probably a good decade when I didn’t tie my shoes if I wasn’t exercising.  Probably longer than a decade.  All of high school for sure.  All of college too.

I had some great Chuck Taylors in high school.  I’d wear them all fall and winter, and when it got nice outside I’d rip the tongues out of them and cut off the rubber toe part to make sandals.  They were amazing, and it was one of those things I did that no one else I knew did.  Unique.  Felt good at that age and time.

Later in high school I had a pair of “Duck Tape Shoes” as my winter shoes.  I wrapped old running shoes in duck tape, sealed the seams with a lighter and used them as boots.  Boots with no traction at all, but boots.

Even after college, I took my old work shoes, some black leather ones from target (ok fake leather ones from Target) and untied the laces, put knots at the end, and wore them as everyday shoes.  These ones added an inch to my height and made me feel good.

For some reason now though, I can’t go out without tying my shoes.  I need them to be tied otherwise it feels weird.  All those times people said to pick up my feet, it was my untied shoes.  I can’t stand the drag now though.

Growth as a human?

Maybe.

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P.S. – Give me the standard “Around the Tree” way to tie my shoes.  That Bunny Ears method, I roll that way.  Uncivilized I tell you.