This December, I’ll (hopefully!) be walking across the FIU stage to receive my double Bachelor’s degree as a 2021 grad. Although bittersweet, I can’t help but feel like my time in college has been everything I always dreamed it to be.
One of my favorite parts about starting a new school year is the process of gathering school supplies and materials. I’m a huge sucker for good stationery, high-quality paper, and all the colorful pens.
I also love the process of choosing a new bag to go with my semester. Although they’ve gotten lighter and smaller as time went on (thank God for technology), the aesthetic was and is always there for me.
As I prep for my last semester in undergrad, here are some key things I’m keeping and a few I’m definitely ditching!
The Bag
For starters, I like and appreciate it when my bag matches my workload. If my semester is on the heavier side, I’ll opt for a medium-sized backpack, such as a Kanken or Herschel.
If my course load happens to be on the lighter side, like now as a senior, I’ll decide on a larger bag instead, such as the Beis Weekender.
- The Good
- Coffee (!!!)
- Laptop
- Hand sanitizer
- Water bottle
- Extra masks
- 5 subject notebook
- Pencil pouch/case
- Quality set of pens (minimum of 5!)
- Highlighters
- Wite-Out
- Planner
- Emergency pouch (filled with Advil, Tylenol, pads, tampons, etc)
2. The Bad
- Binders
- Individual class notebooks
- Scissors + glue (unless required)
- Markers
- Dividers (does anyone even use these anymore?)
- Folders
- Anything wide-ruled
- Anything with your high school on it (no, seriously).
As you can see, there are plenty of items to stay away from the deeper you get into college. Personally, I saw no reason to bring an individual notebook for each one of my classes when a 5 subject notebook was already easily divided for many classes and kept my notes tidy and compact.
I also never used scissors, glue, or markers in any of my college classes (hello, Poli Sci major), but of course, that may be different for other academic tracks.
However, two things from this list that are inarguable are 1) anything wide-ruled feels wrong, very wrong, and 2) don’t bring your high school t-shirt to campus. The last thing you want is for people to think you peaked there.
What’s in your back-to-school bag this semester?
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