The Plaid Press

Senior James Melendez walked into his last year of high school sporting a Among Us backpack. The backpack itself is a simple oval shape in black, with brightly colored Among Us characters. It is also entirely too small for his 17-year-old frame. Despite the fact that the backpack is not guaranteed to last more than a few months, he chose it not only because he thought it was funny and wanted to fit in with the trend, but because it brought him joy unlike the backpack he had carried freshman through junior year.
For years, our backpacks meant the beginning of a new school year. New classes, new teachers, and a step into the next chapter of our high school lives. But for seniors, it can represent something entirely different. As we walk through those aisles, we realize this may be one of the last backpacks we buy as high school students.
Before, we would choose backpacks based on aesthetic, durability, or simply what would fit all seven of our notebooks. However, now seniors are choosing backpacks based on nostalgia and our favorite childhood characters.
“I chose a harajuku themed backpack because I used to love wearing harajuku clothes when i was super little,” senior Scarlet Carles said. “I choose this backpack specifically because I always want to do everything original and this backpack embraced a unique side of my childhood.”
These backpacks mean more than just carrying our school supplies. They represent all of the “lasts” of our childhood.
From waking up early to watch the latest Disney Channel original to begging our parents to buy us that toy we saw on a YouTube unboxing video, these backpacks represent memories we’ve held onto: they represent a childhood that’s soon coming to an end.
“I think this trend really embraces a sense of completing the circle” senior Jacob Montiel said. “From kindergarten to 12th grade, we’re able to look back and embrace what was once important to us as kids.”
Most seniors can agree that growing up is scary. Learning to cherish these new memories while also feeling a great sense of nostalgia is an exact description of what many seniors may be feeling like with the new year unfolding.
“I know that this will soon all come to an end” senior Emily Arakelyan said. “It’s scary to know that I’ll soon have to build my new safe environment somewhere else, yet having one last chance to live in nostalgia makes me cherish these memories even more.”
While these backpacks may come off as silly at the first glance, they’re representing a childhood that will soon fade into memories of the past. Each senior backpack represents not only a child who once loved a character deeply, but also a young adult who still carries that same love.
Senior Keira Nguyen sports a backpack that looks like piano keys in crisp black and white. She chose a fun childish backpack because she is starting to mourn the end of childhood that graduation brings.
“Now that high school is ending, it’s almost indescribable,” Nguyen said. “The same people I’ve watched grow for the past years and finally grasping the milestone that is graduation. And while I can’t wait to experience college and explore the world outside of high school, I can’t help but look back at the countless memories I’ve made at Granada with the utmost nostalgia. The kids backpack trend just adds to that nostalgic feeling.”
Eventually we start to notice the fraying on our backpacks, the rips between the seams, and the fading of that beloved character. While many may not give it a second thought, that ripped backpack starts to represent more than a need for a replacement.
Just like many of our loved childhood experiences, these backpacks will become a memory: these backpacks will become an experience of laughter, nostalgia, and a blast from the past.
“I grew up with Goku, the Dragon Ball super character,” senior Emon Hoshyarsar said. “I think as I get older I picture seeing how these characters taught me certain characteristics that I honestly believe will still carry into adulthood.”
So as we walk around with our childhood backpacks, whether decorated with Among Us or some other childhood memory, we know that they’re carrying more than just our supplies. They are now carrying the memories of our past, the memories of the present, and as these backpacks break, it shows us that our childhood isn’t meant to last forever.