I’ve been harboring a secret for a long, long time, and with the help of The SARF, I am finally ready to release myself from this burden: I am not an ‘authentic’ sock monkey. Yes, I self identify as one, and others recognize me as such, but I have always struggled with this classification. The reason? I am not constructed out of socks. In fact, my creators constructed me out of new fabric straight off the bolt. It had never touched feet, nor was it ever intended to do so. The SARF folks have assured me that this is quite common these days, and that it’s nothing to be ashamed of. They’ve even introduced me to others who are like me! I still struggle with guilt, but I’ve come a long way on my journey toward self-acceptance.