For some unverifiable reason, a large chunk of society's adolescents, teens, students, and young adults just do not like Crocs. The fact that Crocs have been banned from the cool kid's table speaks volumes about the way society judges items and even worse, other people. I absolutely love Crocs. They are comfortable, durable, all-purpose footwear, which I do not believe are unfashionable enough to categorize them as "so last week" or weird.

They are perfect to wear to parties because it is easy to clean the foreign substances off of them, yet I am the only one that wears Crocs to parties. Crocs are great to wear to class because they are closed-toe shoes that are very easy to slip on, yet I am the only one that wears Crocs to class. OK, I don't wear Crocs in the snow, but I would if I could. I can think of many more scenarios where it would be an advantage to be wearing Crocs than a disadvantage. The point is that there is nothing wrong with Crocs, but people continue to cringe, chuckle, and give unsettling looks when I wear them and I just understand why.

This past summer I was a camp counselor and of course, I wore my Crocs regularly on the job. I received ridicule on a daily basis. Countless campers would log roll towards my feet and scream "WHHHAAATTT ARRREE THHHOOOSSEE!!!" with their are arms motioning in the direction of my Crocs. I was in no way offended or embarrassed by this as it was all in good fun, but I believe this proves just how quick people are to judge others in order to fit in and receive a quick laugh from their pals.

This is how public judgement works in my opinion: one popular person or group of people make the executive decision that Crocs are lame, and the majority of population follows their lead. People blindly gang up against Crocs to fit in because fitting in is obviously everyone's goal in life, right?

I encourage everyone to unleash their inner Croc. Let your freak flag fly and absorb the punches society throw at you. Crocs are only one example of something ostracized by society. There are many other things and more importantly, people that have been isolated and picked on for being uncool. I am not going to sugar coat it, being made fun of in front of your peers really hurts and we have all most likely been there one way or another.

As my girl Taylor Swift so beautifully puts it, "People throw rocks at things that shine." Shine on you weirdos, because "the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate" and us weirdos are going to continue to "shake, shake, shake, shake, shake it off, shake if off." Dare to be different, dare to wear Crocs.

Stay Warm,

Ben