My sneakers collection really shares something about my personality. My love for sneakers started when I was 11 years old. The year was 2004 and the Air Jordan 13’s were the hottest things out. My best friend at the time had the two most popular color ways, which were the breds and the flints. Throughout that whole school year I probably asked my mom for a pair of those sneakers about 100 tines and her answer was always the same, “that’s too much money for one pair of sneakers that you’re going to mess up in a month, I can buy you two sneakers for that price”. As I got older her answer changed to “when you get a job and save enough money, you can buy yourself whatever you want”, and that’s exactly what I did. When I turned 14 I got myself a job working in an after school program taking care of kindergarten students. It wasn’t the highest paying job but at least it was something. The second I received my first paycheck, I remember cashing it out and running to footlocker, like I said I didn’t get paid much so I ended buying a pair of Nike Dunk Highs. After a couple of saved paychecks I was able to buy myself a pair Air Jordan 8 “Playoffs”, it was the greatest feeling ever when I bought them. My mom taught me the value of a dollar and to work hard for whatever you want in life and I appreciate her for teaching me those life lessons. Fast forward 14 years later and I’ve had over 1000 pairs of sneakers in that time frame. After I bought that first pair of sneakers it only motivated me to work harder so I can buy more. I ended up becoming a sneaker collector and then ultimately became a sneaker reseller. I currently only have a little over 50 pairs of sneakers in my personal collection but over 100 to resell. I couldn’t pick just 1 pair of sneakers to write about because they all have a story and that’s the reason they’re in my personal collection and not up for resell. My sneaker collection represents who I am and how far I’ve come, every sneaker has a story, whether its my oldest or its a gift or because I searched years for a specific shoe. Sneakers have always been so important to me because I’ve used them as a way to express myself.
About
Professor: Jessica Penner
Email: creative.writing.citytech@gmail.com
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM. I’ll be available through Zoom and will send an invitation via email that you should keep all semester. Try to join my meeting at the start of the hour, not at the end—since I may be talking to other students or have another appointment after the hour is up. If those times don’t work with your schedule, we can schedule a different time. This means you’ll have to schedule an appointment in advance. I suggest you have multiple times in mind, since your schedule may not mesh with mine!
I really enjoyed this story because it shows how since you were 11 your love for sneakers started and it ultimately converted into a hobby of reselling sneakers. One question I probably have is what attracted you to the Jordan 13’s?
Great story I enjoyed how you let us know how it started at a young age and now you kind of made it your job to resell some of the sneakers. I wanted to know was the only reason you were interested in jordans was because it was the hottest thing at the time when you were younger? Like what about it captivated you to start on this journey.
great story, it’s very interesting and inspiring that you were able to turn your hobby into a gainful activity. Hopefully you get the best out of it. These sneakers’ value don’t drop to fast and it’s often the opposite, the older some sneakers get, the more value they have because fewer resellers have it for sale.