When I was young, I liked to look around my parents’ closet — especially my mum’s — to search for some pretty clothes and shoes. My sister and I would try on different things and walk around the house like a model on the runway. One of our favourites was to wear mum’s high heels and try walking in them. It was hard for us to walk in heels, because our feet were too small for the heels; however, we so loved the feeling of being tall.

As the years passed, my sister and I played dress-up much less often. I no longer needed to try on my mum’s high heels to feel tall – I was growing rapidly without them. More importantly, my mum told me that she could no longer wear high heels because when she was young, she wore them too much causing her many problems. Opting for happy feet, I tried to avoid wearing high heels as much as possible. In fact I never attempted high heels again until decorum called for them at my high school graduation ceremony.

Shenzhen, a busy city with great shoe deals. - Photo by Yuan2003

I remembered my first pair of high heels while walking around the malls with my sister, shopping for a pair of heels for prom. It was in Shenzen, where, according to my mum, stores offer wider selections and better deals. She was right. I got a pair of golden-silver heels for a price that would be considered a blind steal in Vancouver, and without having to search too hard. They weren’t the ones with just one little spike at the end to support the whole body, instead they had a little platform at the bottom shaped like a slide. Thinking about it now, I am not sure whether the heels that I got are qualified high heels, but they had the lifting function, and that’s good enough for me.

My high heels don't look all that high next to my sister's

Anyway, I spent at least two days (grad and prom) in my heels, walking around to take pictures with various of people. It was just a painful experience. First of all, I had never worn high heels outside, so before grad and prom, I had to practice walking in them. At first, I walked like a baby who just had learned to walk. I was trembling and needed to hold onto somewhere while I walked. I improved slowly, but still could not walk as normally as I would like. Also, after every bit of walking, I felt like my toes were no longer a part of my feet because my whole body was balanced painfully upon them. My poor little toes were doing what I was used to having my entire sole for, and I could really not stand the pain.

Walking in heels felt like my first steps all over again. Photo by: Sugar Pond

Moreover, my heels were not that good in terms of quality because they were cheap. Let me tell you: if you buy anything, keep in mind that quality should be the priority, not the price (but there are a few exceptions). Lastly, I did need to walk up and down some stairs. Mine were not stiletto heels, so I was not scared that they would get caught between steps. However, because of my nervousness and the unsteadiness of the heels, it was possible that I could stumble and fall onto my face in front of hundreds of students and parents. I did not want that to happen; so, I took every step carefully and slowly. Despite my discomfort, after looking at the pictures, I did feel like the heels made my legs a lot slimmer and longer. That was definitely a bonus, but was it worth all the pain? Go figure. I guess girls who wear high heels on a rainy day, walking through the muddy roads on the campus must have practiced a lot. If not how could they run and catch the bus? I do not think I could ever do that. To me, wearing high heels are similar to walking up a very steep hill. Both of them are hard-work, and I avoid them if I possibly can.