so i didn't win...

tom's shoes & element skateboards had an amazing essay contest going on. where they would pick one winner to go on a trip with them in october and pass out shoes and skateboards in SOUTH AFRICA! so wanted to win this. but didn't. i'm still glad that i entered though made me think about a lot of things. sometimes it's easy to forget why i do the things i do, why i'm passionate about certain things, why i live for certain things. so it was good to be reminded. the essay question was: why do you want to go with us to this trip? i went the heartfelt writing route instead of the fancy words route. this was very last minute packing bags to leave argentina & writing this. either way here it is...

My name is Bernice T-------. I’m twenty-one years old. I’m the type of person that eats Chipotle burritos like it’s going out of style, the type of person that empties her savings for a trip to Argentina to get behind a semi-truck to feed people, the type of person that has a crazy theory in her head that every person has a story to tell, and that if we all take the time to listen to each other’s stories the world would feel more loved and understood. In summary I love burritos, but more than that I love people. I found out about the Tom’s & Element shoe drop contest while I was out in Argentina for the summer through an e-mail from my sister. By the time I was done reading the e-mail I was sitting straighter, and my heart was pounding faster. The thought of even getting the chance to help out and be a part of something special, and something that I believed in made me feel excited. There’s this feeling I can’t put my finger on where the world just comes in focus for me, when I find myself feeling alive. I usually find myself lost in these moments when I am helping others out.



I believe at the core of every person is the need to feel loved and wanted. When I look at great people like Olympic stars, presidents, or people that have achieved great things I sometimes question how they got to that level. There are different answers to that question, but they all have one thing in common: someone one time or another believed in them. I’ve never heard an acceptance speech that thanked no one. That’s not how it works relationships are how it works. Audrey Hepburn once said, “People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.” I find this to be true, and I feel that Toms & Element go a step further in not just giving but coming face-to-face with the people they give to. That to me is real and beautiful. It’s basic psychology that the more passionate someone is about something the more the little details count. I see this characteristic woven intricately both in Toms & Element through the work they do. Toms doesn’t just want to give shoes they go a step further by getting their knees dirty to put shoes on a kid. Element doesn’t just want to give a skateboard away they want to watch the kids try out their first tricks. It’s the details that count the story of Cinderella wouldn’t be the same if Prince Charming didn’t get on one knee to put the shoe on her, the Last Supper wouldn’t have as much meaning as it does today if Jesus didn’t get down to wash the feet of the disciples, and grown men don’t cry for nothing after watching the movie Coach Carter when the whole team decides to pitch in to do push-ups and suicides so a teammate can get back on the basketball team. Great things grow out of small acts of kindness. These actions in itself creates space in the heart of the kids Toms & Element interacts with to remind them of their worth. Dwight Eisenhower once said, “That the world could be fixed if every child understood the necessity of their existence.” Putting a shoe on a kid might not absolutely change their world at that moment, but it will make their life more meaningful. It’s those kinds of meaningful moments that stack up on each other that give purpose to someone’s life. A person can’t help but stand a little taller, or walk with a swagger when they realize their worth as a person. These kids come out with shoes and skateboards, but it’s not just that it’s the knowledge that at the end of the day they were thought of, and that they have the right to pursue happiness.



It would be an honor and dream come true to be able go to south Africa and tickle feet before putting shoes on them, or watch a kid do their first flip back on a skateboard. But it would be a greater honor for me to make a kid breathe easier for a day, to keep it real and bring a little bit of heaven down here on earth.