I’m 5’2″ and my height didn’t really bother me until my younger sister grew taller than me. Suddenly I was the shortest in the family and I already was shortest at school etc.
So starting around age 16, the only shoes I wore that were flat were running shoes when I exercised. I even wore sandals with heels around the house. An added benefit to wearing heels for me was that pants which were usually always too long became the right length.

In spring 2007 my parents bought me “nice work shoes” – gorgeous black pumps. They were my first pair of stilettos and once I learned to walk in them, I happily wore them all summer to work. That fall I developed plantar fasciitis in my left heel area and I am quite sure it was from those shoes. My foot got worse and actually in the winter of 2008 I had to go on crutches and stop running for a few months due to the inflammation around my Achilles and arch. Since then I have barely worn heels because I have to have 2-3 layers of inserts in my shoes for arch support and that is not easy to do except in the most sturdy, sensible, flat shoes. I wear running shoes everywhere and even at work, I only change out of them when I have to go to a meeting. Then my foot will end up hurting just from walking around the office without my layers of inserts. If I try to wear heels, my foot starts hurting within minutes.

The biggest problem I face not being able to wear heels is that I haven’t been able to wear many of my clothes or feel as confident when I do wear them because running shoes just don’t go with everything! Occasionally I grit my teeth and wear heels so I can wear a skirt but I always pay the price. The upside is I can run to catch a bus or run to make a light as I see women all around me who can’t because they are teetering by in their high heels. I feel much safer wearing flat shoes because I know I can run very easily if I need to. Even if/when my foot finally heals, I don’t think I will wear heels as much as I used to. I like the freedom of movement too much.
I also think I am in a more confident place than I was as a teenager or in college and so I don’t feel the need to dress up (including heels) all the time. I am happy to revert back to some of the styles of my elementary and middle school self and wear jeans and tshirts with flat shoes more often.

h

I thought I would die. But I really had no option, so here I am years later still wishing now and then for my heels but mostly wearing Earth shoes and finding walking much more comfortable.