The Kroger Shoes

This story took place on my 2nd day of senior year. Having been away from the toxic environment that is my high school for about 3 months, this interaction was a phenomenal way to remind me that summer was over. Judging it was still the first week of school, my fashion was still on it's A game, and I wore my favorite pair of sneakers to school; baby blue Air Jordan's. One of my soccer teammates came up to me on the field and asked me where I had gotten them from. At this point in the day, I was no longer wearing the sneakers and was wearing my soccer cleats, so people around the conversation did not exactly know what shoes the kid was referencing. Before I had the chance to answer, one of my other teammates, (who was white), interrupts and goes "he probably got them from Kroger." This kid was obviously implying that someone like me must not be able to buy his sneakers from Nike, and is purchasing them in the local supermarket. The kid repeated himself 3 times and was clearly proud of his remark.

I always like to talk about what I did in the moment to overcome these microaggressions, but this time, I did nothing. I let the kid sit there and repeat himself and giggle all he wanted. There was nothing for me to say. There was no use denying they were from Kroger because I know they're not, he knows they're not, and my friend who was asking also knows they're not. Sometimes the best way to overcome these statements is to use it as fuel to power your inner drive. I know I can work hard and show people like this that success comes from all colors, but more importantly that struggle does as well. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having shoes from Kroger, or Nike, or Adidas, or Walmart; what is important is disbanding the narrative that socioeconomic status is determined by your shade. The way to do this is not through snapping witty comments back, but by focusing on my own goals and what is truly important.