“It is a path that winds through everyone’s life, giving individuals a power to heal with what they have.  But for this path to be of any value you must first do one thing… walk it.” ~Hanson

On Friday afternoon, I met my cousin on the Wichita State campus for The Walk.  We were both pretty excited, since it was the first time for both of us.  For those of you that don’t know, before each concert, Hanson leads a one mile barefoot walk to raise money for various causes in Africa.  You don’t have to walk barefoot, but it is supposed to be a reminder of what we take for granted, and how big of a difference a pair of shoes can make in a person’s life.  So my cousin and I, along with several other fans gathered outside the University’s art museum.  We filled out our registration cards, which let them know how many walkers there are.  It also lets you pick one of five causes to donate your Walk dollar to.  I picked AIDS.  My cousin, the elementary school teacher, obviously picked education.

Let me just tell you, it was freezing in Wichita.  Ok, not exactly freezing per se, but for a girl that has avoided the entire season of winter for the last couple years, under no other circumstances would I have walked around outside without shoes on.  Then, they annouced that we were going to do TWO miles.  I just kept telling myself, “Think of the kids in Africa.” 

So we trekked around the campus, still trying to avoid any pine needles, rocks, and water puddles.  I am definitely not made to be walking around without shoes in Africa, or anywhere for that matter.  That being said, we made it through the rocky concrete and mud, and it was really cool to complete The Walk.  What was even cooler was to walk two miles with a large group of people, most of them my age.  It felt good to not only raise awareness about something (we had quite a few people ask what was going on), but to actually TAKE ACTION on a cause we believed in.

Their main goal is to “walk around the world,”  which would be 24,902 miles.  But they have smaller goals with each of the five causes and have already built a clean water well in Soweto. 

I always like to think that if I were famous, I would use my celebrity-ness for good.  And while Hanson is significantly more famous than I am, it’s nice to watch three guys from Tulsa help save the world.