Zany Zips
Jul 10, 2026 · 7 min · 5 segments
How a pair of Zips sneakers taught me to walk *my* own journey.
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- DanaHost
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Jul 10, 2026 · 7 min · 5 segments
How a pair of Zips sneakers taught me to walk *my* own journey.
In the months between first and second grade, I moved from Germany to the United States.
As the lazy days of summer gradually faded away, I knew it wouldn't be long before I would be starting a new school year in a new school.
This would be my first experience attending school in America.
It would also be my first experience with the ritual known as back to school shopping.
With my grandparents now a mere 10 miles away, rather than 3,000 miles away, I had plenty of exposure to this annual tradition.
After one of my back to school shopping trips with my grandmother, I returned home with a pair of sneakers that could only be described as functional, like how one might describe orthopedic shoes.
The shoes themselves were the color of dirt, which was bad enough, yet on the side of this basic brown nylon sneaker was sewn a dark brown letter Z.
The Z was the insignia for the shoe brand Zips.
In the months between first and second grade, I moved from Germany to the United States.
As the lazy days of summer gradually faded away, I knew it wouldn't be long before I would be starting a new school year in a new school.
This would be my first experience attending school in America.
It would also be my first experience with the ritual known as back to school shopping.
With my grandparents now a mere 10 miles away, rather than 3,000 miles away, I had plenty of exposure to this annual tradition.
After one of my back to school shopping trips with my grandmother, I returned home with a pair of sneakers that could only be described as functional, like how one might describe orthopedic shoes.
The shoes themselves were the color of dirt, which was bad enough, yet on the side of this basic brown nylon sneaker was sewn a dark brown letter Z.
The Z was the insignia for the shoe brand Zips.
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