Lightning McQueen, Disney princesses, and Spiderman are the main characters of Oakmont’s campus, as the colorful and “childish” themes of kiddy backpacks mark the arrival of not-so-young seniors.
As the class of ‘25 has just begun their last year of high school, a sentimental and graphic way to capture the essence of your elementary days is to sport a backpack deemed to be for a little kid.
As this trend has caught the attention of many impending high school veterans, a bedazzled and bold backpack assumed to be for a kindergartener might just be worn by a senior in high school.
Favorite childhood characters are repped as seniors reminisce on what their beloved TV show to tune into or animal to admire was.
“I have a Dumbo backpack that is from Disney,” Oakmont senior Emilyn Batres said.
Other seniors share this same experience, as their choice of transport for their Chromebook and study supplies flaunt spunky or charming characters and themes.
“My senior backpack is a Monster High backpack with all the characters,” Oakmont senior Julia Torrez said.
Senior classes introspectively select a bag that characterizes past picks and preferences and treasured reflections of their youth.
“[I chose this backpack] because when I was little, I would love Monster High and I would love to watch it and play with the dolls. I had a really big collection of it,” Torrez said. “…so I thought, how cute would it be to recreate what I used to have when I was little into my senior year.”
This parallel between past and present plastered and pictured on the backs of Oakmont students can bear sentimental value and prompt a reconnection with one’s adolescent memories.
“I chose it because I have this thing where elephants are my favorite animal,” Batres said. “Elephants just hold a really close place to my heart ever since I’ve been young, so I wanted to have a senior backpack that meant something to me.”
The recollective custom can be a metaphorical rendition of remembering our younger years and paying tribute to them, while we spend our last high school adorned in a physical form of flashbacks.
“…It’s a way to show we’re exiting our childhood and going to the real world, so it’s our way of reconnecting with that childhood and coming back into this,” Torrez said.
As one’s senior year is often traditionally regarded as their last year under the wings of adolescence and with the lively title of “high-schooler”, this trend may act as a reminiscent ballad of the final moments prior to emergence into adulthood.
“I think… because it’s our last year still being in high school and not really going out in the real world yet, that it’s our last chance to be little kids again,” Batres said.
Aside from sentimental value, the lighthearted and colorful themes not always found in the generally more mature themes or tones of a teenage wardrobe can induce a shot of serotonin when viewing the cascade of colors during passing periods or contrasting against the dull of one’s desk.
As seniors embark on their final year of high school before the chapter of their childhood is closed, the tradition of “senior backpacks” or “little kid backpacks” stand as a way to wear memories of their favorite characters and a reminiscent reincarnation of nostalgia for one’s vibrant, younger years.
