The time has officially come.
I think many students can agree with me when I say summer flew by and the start of the fall semester is creeping upon us like a recovering shopaholic who keeps on getting emails and texts about Barney’s bi-annual sale.
The months, weeks and days before the semester often go like this: worrying about getting to HSS from Buehler every day in a 15-minute gap between classes; worrying about what we’ll be eating for meals because now we live in apartments; and worrying about how much money we’ll be spending on the necessary and essential things to survive on campus.
So brace yourselves, friends, it’s going to be tough. But if there’s one thing I can assure you that you don’t have to worry about, it’s your backpack.
Unless you lost your backpack – which in that case I hope you took advantage of Tennessee’s back-to-school tax free holiday this past weekend – all you need to do is fill it with your class items and you’re set. Your backpack is a staple, almost a requirement for school. And it has been since the first grade. Backpacks are supposed to support and encourage our academic achievements by providing us with all the tools and things we need to get there. And I bet Dora the Explorer can attest to that.
But of course, there’s no argument for what a backpack can do for us. What I’m mainly interested in is the type of backpack different students carry on campus.
Most common is the North Face backpack that was designed with hikers in mind (don’t get me started on Chacos) with a million different pockets that you never knew it had. Then there’s the JanSport backpack, which you probably have owned since middle school because those things never get old (I may or may not have one that was passed down from my sister in 2002). And of course there are the themed backpacks, from “Star Wars” to “Adventure Time.” And lastly, there are the people that refuse to use real backpacks and then use their handbags instead.
Admittedly, I am one of those people. I carried a backpack from year one to year 12 and never quite found it flattering. Plus, by the time I arrived to college my style sense had changed so much I could never really work a backpack into my wardrobe. So, I started employing my handbags, from black leather to jersey to gold detailed to Michael Kors.
What I need for class differs a lot from what my friends need for class. My friend with a backpack will be carrying two textbooks, one regular book, a laptop and charger, a few folders and notebooks and an agenda. Me? All I need is one notebook, my agenda, my lunch and water bottle and my pencil case. Besides also being one of my pet peeves, I can barely focus on my professor with a computer in front of me. Same goes for reading, to really focus on my assigned texts I leave them at home to make better use of my time.
I met a similar student who carried only a limited number of things with her on a day-to-day basis, and her and I shared a common bond in finding the perfect hand bag for our on-campus schedules. It may seem frivolous or even stupid to spend good money on a bag we’ll be beating up, leaving in dirty places on campus and stuffing occasionally when we need two meals, but it’s more than just that.
School is my main priority and I, obviously, like to dress in my style for the most important part of my day. A backpack doesn’t suit me and I prefer a bag that will not only complement my style, but also accompany me wherever I need to go off campus.
Because let’s be real: anyone wearing an eight-pound heavy backpack in Market Square looks like a fish out of water.
Melodi Erdogan is a junior in journalism and electronic media. She can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @melodierdogan.
