Converse High Tops

I have been wearing Chuck Taylor high tops for as long as I can remember. Converse high tops are as much of a part of my identity as my jean jacket with the patches. You see, back in the day, Converse Chuck Taylors were the only shoes that I could afford. All of the other kids had expensive Nike shoes, but I had my plain old Converse high tops made out of canvas.

They did not provide a lot of ankle support, and when I played basketball in them, I would often hurt my ankles. Nonetheless, they worked for me. They are plain, simple, and elegantly designed. At first, I was ashamed to only be able to afford Converse high tops, but in the long run I grew to love them. They were my shoes after all.

That was a long time before the converse high top became hip. Nowadays, all of the hipsters wear Converse high tops. You cannot walk down the street without seeing them on the feet of kids in smugly ironic dress. I can't stand those kids. They dress nerdy and awkward as a fashion statement, but when I was a kid, I really was nerdy and awkward. They wear Converse high tops but they have plenty of money.

When I was a kid, I wore the shoes exactly because I did not have any money. Converse cheap shoes were the only choice for poor kids like me, unless I could find a pair of secondhand shoes in the Goodwill store. I would have to decorate my Converse high tops, painting them up in different colors, just to be able to hold my head high in school.

Recently, I got a new pair of Converse All-Stars and did what I used to do. I painted them. Since I hit my teenage years, most of my Converse high tops have been in the color that they came in. I do not paint them up anymore, but I could not resist this one time. I think I was seeing all of those hipster kids and their Converse high tops.

I had to do something to mark myself as different from them. Walking down the street, I could easily be mistaken for them. The way I have always dressed is the way they have started dressing. Maybe I am being petty, but it really hurts to have your identity stolen out from under you.