In January, my cousin introduced me to a company called TOMS Shoes. I had heard of it before, but he sat me down and explained what the company stood for and how instrumental they could be in changing the world.

TOMS Shoes is a company that gives away a pair of shoes to a child in need for each pair purchased. Being a shoe fanatic, I got on the Web site and started to look at designs and saw that they were completely different than anything other people wore. I had to have some – I love being different.

I got my first pair in mid-January. The more I wore them, the more I started to fall in love with TOMS. I read about the mission and got on the Web site again to plan out my next purchase, while continuing to rock that first pair of TOMS. They formed holes and the soles were worn down. They became my “go-to shoes.”

During Spring Break, I went to Jamaica on a mission trip, which proved to be an eye-opening experience. This country, this campus and this community are so blessed.

I began to evaluate my gratitude and my appreciation for things as big as my car and education and as small as my shoes. I started to think about what I could do to reach out and help others. Being in college, I don’t have unlimited funds to send myself to other countries.

But I am proud to be outgoing, and I knew that could help me begin to promote awareness about the TOMS Shoes’ cause. I decided I needed to kick off my shoes and go barefoot.

Beginning on March 17, I threw my TOMS to the side and began to walk Athens without shoes. Why do I say Athens and not just the University or the campus? I decided if I was going to attempt this, I might as well go all out.

TOMS Shoes focuses on the issue that children in some countries have to walk miles without shoes to satisfy basic needs such as water. I remember thinking to myself, “What can I do to replicate that?”

One day, I needed some bandages, so I started to walk. About two hours later, I found myself five miles from the dorms at the Atlanta Highway Target. On the way back, I noticed red spots being left on the sidewalk. My feet had started bleeding. I was leaving footprints with every step. I had a new appreciation for shoes and the privileges they provide.

During the next month, my feet got torn up. I started getting the sniffles from walking to my classes in the midst of puddles and mud. Without shoes, a normal 10-minute walk turned into a 25-minute adventure, trying to take the most “even route.” Getting up in the morning became even more of a struggle – I was in such pain that I did not want to walk anywhere.

This column is by no means an attempt to accolade myself. I wrote it for one purpose – I want to see change.

Many people have asked me what was wrong and why I was doing it. Through normal conversation, I was able to tell people about the need for shoes around the globe and the opportunity to “be the change you wish to see in the world.”

TOMS Shoes stays true to its mission of placing shoes on the world’s feet. The company places its best foot forward (ha!) to fight the diseases related to walking without shoes and to conquer the need for shoes worldwide.

I mean, seriously – shoes! I never knew the importance of a shoe until I felt what it was like to be without them.

I encourage you all to check out the Web site and to kick your shoes off for today’s “One Day Without Shoes” and experience what it’s like. Join the fight and help promote a change in our world.

- Stuart Darsey is a freshman from Albany majoring in recreation and leisure studies.