I wear shoes often and in many different situations.

Sometimes it’s a stylistic choice. Other times I select shoes that make me look dapper. This is because I am entirely self-absorbed.

But the primary reason I so often wear shoes is that my feet are weak. Really, really weak. They have hardly any callouses and they blister easily.

Most of the time I wear thick cotton socks, too.

So, I would like to congratulate bold men like Waterford sophomore Sean Proctor, who walks shoeless around campus even during winter, for one reason – being manly.

Nothing is manlier than going without shoes. The ice, the cement, the salt – nothing stands between his flesh and the everyday hazards of walking.

Sure, according to medical advice, walking shoeless does not necessarily make Proctor more susceptible to illness. But without shoes, Proctor risks stepping directly on glass or nails. Or squirrels.

Aside from routine discomforts, there also is the risk of harm from sharp objects. That is, unless his feet have developed impenetrable callouses (this is plausible).

Yet Proctor troops on, hardly fazed by the elements.

To put this in perspective, I sometimes have to walk to the bathroom during the night. At this time, I am not wearing socks, shoes or anything of the like. I am barefoot.

As I walk up the steps, there’s a particularly rough section of the carpet. That kind of hurts.

Then I have to walk through the living room, where there is inevitably a crumb or two that is uncomfortably pointy. Another ‘ouch.’

When I’ve managed to make it to the bathroom, I have to do it all over again to get back to my room. More discomfort awaits.

I cannot fathom doing this outdoors, in which the crumbs are replaced by rocks and the rough patches of carpet are replaced by freshly salted ice.

I fully understand Proctor’s shoeless endeavors as the acts of courage and endurance that they are.

One could object that going shoeless is altogether senseless and for no good reasons throws away a luxury common to everyday life. There may be good reasons to prefer not wearing shoes, but these are not applicable when walking on freshly salted ice.

However, this is unfounded. Going shoeless is not just a style choice; it is an act of courage that represents conquering the elements and also having really thick callouses.

And it’s something I simply haven’t the will to do.

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E-mail the author: Brian McLean