In the continuous bustle of
high school life, it is apparent
that the average student is required
to carry a lot of supplies in
their backpack. For every class
throughout the day, there are
the academic basics:
folders stuffed with
worksheets and
handouts, threering
binders
and notebooks,
writing
tools and
calculators.
Then
we
move
into the
extraneous
items:
maybe
you’ve
packed a
Ziploc bag
of Fruit
Loops or
Goldfish crackers,
to make up
for a missed breakfast.
Maybe you’ve decided
to keep a journal for
creative writing. Maybe you keep
a book or two on your self in case
you have some time to read.
Maybe you’ve got a full watercolor
paint set for art class.
Maybe you found out you can
fold up your raincoat and stash it
in the middle pocket. Maybe you
have a can of baked beans or
something silly like that.
Regardless, it’s generally
accepted that you have to keep all
these items in your backpack so
you can use them at a moment’s
notice. And even if a notebook or
book is not immediately needed,
then it’s better to keep it close
than keeping it in your locker.
You know, your locker: that small
rectangle with the lock you don’t
remember how to open, which
you visit maybe once or twice
over the course of the school year.
I have friends who admit to never
having opened their lockers, preferring
to carry everything on
themselves at all times.
While this appears to be
truly efficient, it is actually damaging
overall to yourself and your
backpack. For example, rather
than drag around a heavy backpack
all day (bearing stress on
your shoulders, back, and neck),
why not relieve some of the load
with a trip to your locker? You’re
not in class all the time. You don’t
need to bring your enormous
French binder to English class. It
also does a number on your backpack.
This last semester, I
watched a perfectly reliable backpack
suffer an untimely death
after having stuffed it with things
I didn’t need or wasn’t using,
ending with most of the backpack’s
zippers coming off the
track and opening at random intervals.
You’re given lockers for
a reason: to use them. Stick your
unused folders or binders in there
and come back for them later.
Don’t lug around art supplies or
coats when there is an easy place
to store them. And barring complaints
of tardiness, you have
plenty of time during a lunch period
to stop off at your locker for
any reason.