Winni Jiang (287)
Cruising the halls, you may have noticed sparkly, flashy backpacks of iconic characters from your childhood. Unfortunately, the carefree days of preschool haven’t returned; instead, the new dress style is a remembrance of those fond times. If you have been at any high school for more than a year, you will notice this common trend. However, has the fad been kept up in recent years, and should the choice of backpacks be strictly dedicated to the seniors?
Seniors may not choose a children’s backpack due to reasons of functionality and waste. If they own a usable backpack such as Connie Ye (286)’s Lululemon backpack, they may feel reluctant to replace it. The seniors who were interviewed all had well-fitting backpacks. Additionally, Eva Yang (286) pointed out that kid backpacks are “less efficient… there’s not as many compartments.”
If some seniors are unwilling to get a kid backpack, why did the trend start originally? “Because seniors … they’re becoming old and they want to relive their childhood and have a sense of nostalgia,” According to Connie Ye (286). Sarah Aleji also noted, “I think it just came from a TikTok trend where people started like bringing kid backpacks to school.” Rocking the last year of high school with a unique and nostalgic backpack drew lots of people to participate in the trend.
Childhood backpacks can be chosen based on someone’s favorite movie or TV show growing up. Sarah Aleji (286), who has a Frozen-themed backpack, said, “I loved everything Frozen when I was little, so I might as well showcase that in my bookbag right now.” She felt buying a kid’s backpack could be wasteful due to the cost; however, the backpack can be donated and should be enjoyed by feeling like a little kid again. Surprisingly, their backpack was able to fit their books, with two additional pockets for essentials.
Down to the boiling question of whether kid backpacks have been going out of style. The seniors in general concluded that no, the trend has still been prominent and survived to live on. Summed up by Jia-Hua Gong (286) as “I think there are people who do it and people who don’t.” Additionally, they agree that kid backpacks should be kept as a senior tradition for rising seniors to look forward to rather than everyone wearing one.
Time will tell if the senior backpacks will continue for future generations. For non-seniors, strike up a conversation with friends about possibly incorporating a childhood backpack into the daily fit.
