Bad luck with Backpacks

Remember back to being a new student at a new school (we were all new at some point).

It was awkward to find your classes (and get there on time), you might have had a few friends, but you probably had classes that weren’t filled with them, you probably had new clothes (maybe a new backpack, or shoes) and you were just trying to find yourself. Where do you belong? Where are you going after this?

When I started high school, that was exactly my experience. My high school had 3 floors, my graduating class would be something like 500 people, so you can imagine with 3 grades going there, how crowded the halls were. My best friends in junior high went to a different high school. I had 1 really good friend who was a grade older than me, I think I still had braces, I was shy, and I was awkward to say the least.

I started that year with, what I thought, was an amazing Walmart backpack!

This backpack was grey and pink (it was conservative pink, not the neon one my sister used), and had probably 3 big pockets, with lots of little mini pockets for pens and pencils, etc. so I could stay uber organized, and I had taken the boy scout motto, “Be Prepared” to heart. If I remember right, I carried a stapler my first few months, because then I didn't have to talk to the teacher to use theirs, not to mention the paper, pencils, pens, highlighters, etc. I carried my lunch in there, and my coat often got stuffed into it too.

Something like this picture i pulled off the internet, but more pink.

It had a plastic handle that came up so I could wheel it along so I didn't have to carry it on my back if I didn't want to, and before that school year started, It was the best bag in the world.

Fast forward 2 months.

• The rolling part never got used, because 3 floors. And if I did roll it, that just seemed pretentious.

• The handle came up the middle which just made my back hurt.

• It was completely full all the time because again, boy scout motto. I could never find anything in it, which got frustrating when my lunch was at the very bottom, and somewhat smashed, and the weight added more pressure to my back.

• Also, high schools are kind of dirty, and this one was not even a little bit machine washable, so it stayed clean all of 1 week.

• It got a tear in it because I went for cute over durable, and I think I was trying to put my scissors away.

• And after using it in this way for about two months, the handle that ran up the middle of the bag literally just broke in half. I used it for a day or two in that condition before I was able to go with my mom to get a new one.

Its replacement? The exact same thing.

It lasted about half as long. The back plastic bar snapped in half again, in basically the same spot give or take a few inches. 

To say my mom was not happy was an understatement. I think we had a long conversation about being a good steward, and taking care of the things that we had. I think she offered to buy me a Tuffbag at the time, but I needed a new bag now (I couldn’t just wait for my aunt to make me one).

I remember going with my mom to the store around this time of year, because I remember there being Christmas décor up. If I remember right, we had just missed the Black Friday Sales that year. I was not allowed to even think about buying the same bag, and it had to last me at least until the end of the next year, preferably graduation.

My third bag was a blue satchel. This one held a place for a phone I didn't have, and again lots of little pockets and dividers that I had every intention of using. It lasted ‘til graduation, barely, with some changes to my lifestyle. No more carrying scissors or a stapler (I think that broke too if I’m being honest), just the basics. I had to actually use my locker sometimes, which before then had been mostly empty.

Sort of like this but brighter.

By the time I graduated, it had a hole in the bottom of the main pocket. It held binders and books fine, but pencils, pens, even a small calculator would have fallen through. I had to make sure not to just throw everything in, as I was prone to do, to get to my next class on time. It didn’t make it to college.

I didn’t own a Tuffbag until 3 years after I graduated (but that is a story for another time).

Knowing what I know now, I should have just gotten one. I’d probably still be using it.