I went to the sort of school where you wore uniforms and shoes polished until you could damn near see your reflection in them. Which meant - as our school grounds were sand, not grass or gravel - regular polishing. Even though I've graduated, I've kept up the habit with my normal shoes - and even the boots I never wear on account of living in the tropics.

Like you, I have the new liquid kind, and it works a treat, especially in combination with (for leather shoes, anyway) a good shoe shampoo. There's just something nice and meditative about sitting down every once in a while to polish your shoes until they shine.