It’s a hot summer night. 

It’s a windy fall morning.

It’s a rainy spring afternoon. 

I am wearing Birkenstocks. 

The leather wraps around my ankles. 

I feel so secure. 

The soles, broken into. 

Where my feet, my toes rest. 

For seven years I have waited

To finally wear open-toed shoes

Oh, my Birkenstocks how I love you

I will embrace you for the few days of my senior year

And I will let nobody stop me!

As I alluded to in the last stanza of my poem, one senior year rite of passage is the right to wear open-toed shoes. Generations of senior classes before mine have proudly boasted their toes atop the senior tables, on the library couches, and—metaphorically—on top of freshman. As a native Californian and a Westridge student with something to prove, I am keen on taking every day left of my Westridge experience to expose my toes. 

One problem: I am a victim of bullying—simply for trying to embrace Westridge’s long-standing senior culture.

A rather gruesome TikTok campaign against people of all ages showing their toes, referring to them as “dogs,” brainwashed my peers into thinking that wearing sandals without socks—even though with socks was once considered its own fashion travesty—is a crime against humanity. My toes are called “gross” and I am told to “put them away.”

Embracing my ten wonderful toes that help me walk, play soccer, and occasionally pick up dirty laundry from the floor is only natural, and I implore every Westridge senior to do the same. 

Senior Class President Isla R. agrees with me and is one of the few of my classmates I see regularly embracing her toes. She said, “Nowadays, I think there’s such a stigma around having your toes out; people think it’s gross.” She continued, “I don’t [think it’s gross.] It’s a normal thing. Everyone has feet.”

Isla also emphasized rising to the occasion as seniors—taking advantage of the special opportunity. “You’ve been waiting. It’s just nice to have your toes out.”

Whether or not you are a sandal-wearer yourself, I encourage all of you to support those of your peers who are. Wearing open-toed shoes at Westridge is just another opportunity to showcase self-expression, and that’s what the Tigers are all about.