My daughter was going to quit archery. She LOVES archery!

I was quite surprised when she told me she was thinking about this. I asked her, "Why? What is it that makes you not want to go anymore? Are you tired of it? Or is something wrong?"

She was a little embarrassed, and answered that it was the shoes. You see, for archery, shoes are required. No sandals. No crocks, flip flops, or anything other than closed-toed shoes. It's for safety purposes.
My daughter wears sandals and flip flops everywhere. She ONLY uses tennis-shoes for archery.

She also struggles with anxiety. This is an issue we have been working on for a while, and in some ways it has improved, and in others, it has become more challenging.

Apparently, when she is anxious, she NEEDS to be able to wiggle her toes. Not just a little wiggle, she needs to splay and wave her monkey toes around! I did not realize this. So, when we go to archery practice, and we put her crazy toes into foot-jail, (aka shoes), it makes her anxiety that much worse. She can't focus because she is busy trying and failing to wiggle her toes inside her shoes.

After doing a lot of research, we found something that might work!! These are minimalist shoes that we found on etsy, (I'll drop a link to the seller in case anyone is interested), and we finally received them on Saturday! She tried them on, and after a little confusion trying to figure out which shoe was 'left' or 'right', she decided she LOVES them and they will be her new archery shoes, and maybe even everyday shoes!

They may look a little strange to someone who is used to regular shoes. That's okay. My daughter has her own style, and she dresses to please herself, no one else.

She picked out the color, and the seller offered to put on any kind of applique she wanted, so naturally, unicorns it was!

She says she can wiggle and splay her toes now as much as she wants, and the woolen insides are SUPER soft!

She also loves the fact that, since the soles are quite thin, she could feel the ground and grass under her feet. These shoes are designed differently than typical shoes; they are thin-soled and roomy, allowing you to flex your feet while walking and stepping naturally, which is better for your feet and back than thick-soled tennis-shoes anyway. They are custom-made, meaning you send her your exact foot measurements and she designs them especially for your unique feet.

I want to share this discovery with you all because I'm sure some of you out there may benefit from this type of shoe!

Anyone looking for an inexpensive minimalist/barefoot style shoe might like them. Parents of kids with sensory needs may also want to give these a try, for those kids who just cannot stand wearing shoes!

Here is where I found mine.

I don't get anything from recommending her, I just want to share her shop with you.

Also, if any of you are interested, my daughter came back to steemit over the weekend and made a post about these shoes and other things.

She says she has a goal of creating at least 2-3 posts a week. I hope she does! She struggles with focusing on projects for any length of time, so we will see how she does. Maybe if you guys dropped her some comments it would inspire her! ♥

Thanks for reading!! Have a lovely week, everyone! ♥