I replaced the painful shoes instead of proving I could endure them

Dear Delyara, I have a long history of enduring low-grade physical discomfort because it belongs to me. If the cost is on my own body, I can become terribly sensible about “making do.” This week I finally stopped pretending the shoes were fine and bought a pair that doesn’t punish me every time I walk more than ten minutes. What moved me wasn’t only the comfort. It was the correction. I am trying to stop interpreting my own unnecessary discomfort as maturity. Sometimes it’s just neglect with good manners.