no more packs for backs

I've finally figured it out. I finally got what my teachers have been talking about all these years. There really IS a huge difference between college and high school, and it really does take some serious preparation to handle the transition.

No, it's not the new found freedom, the half mile hike to class, the part time jobs, the never ending term papers, or even the ominous threat of the "real world." No no no, none of that is right.

It's your backpack.

Somewhere I missed the memo which stated the apparently obvious truth that backpacks are no longer cool. (If, in fact, they ever really were.)

Backpacks have always been an icon of social status. The idea of the overstuffed "freshmen backpack" has always been a sign of a "newbie," and therefore a target for upperclassmen to prey on. Artistic students had the single-strap version, often in some unusual color. The suave, super cool upperclassmen always wore their JanSport off one shoulder, leaving it slightly open, with a key lanyard usually hanging out one of the pockets. If they were REALLY cool, the bag itself would be covered with signatures, doodles, and even a few phone numbers.

But these high school standards have long since vanished into the past, a memory only recorded in dusty yearbooks and disorganized photo albums. Backpacks have seemingly disappeared from the college campus, replaced with a more adult, and clearly trendier, shoulder bag.

While the bag varies in size, shape and color, the idea behind it is always the same. This bag, which can often be confused as an oversized purse, is smaller than a backpack and much more sophisticated (or so is the assumption).

Tote bags, beach bags, leather briefcases, large purses, glittery handbags and track bags are just a few of the variations I've seen around campus.

Allowing students to express their style, and themselves, it seems that almost anything can be converted into the perfect bookbag. Afterall, what is the sense in carrying a purse as well as a backpack? And if you opt not to bring a purse, something is always left behind in the "other bag," whether it be keys, sunglasses, cell phone or chapstick.

In my experience, I've only recently made the switch. (Apparently I was one of the "uncool kids," still lugging around my brand new JanSport- go figure.) I opted for the traditional black shoulder bag, a little bit oversized but supposedly worth the extra room.

The first problem I've found with it I can blame on its size- I just can't control it. Always true to form, I'm more than a bit clumsy with it, and it hasn't been uncommon for me to be nearly blown away by a sudden gust of wind (think of carrying a large piece of cardboard- yeah, it's like that). Not to mention my difficulties in trying to maneuver it down the tight classroom aisles- again, the bag seems to have a mind, and purpose, of its own. Like the little kid on the bus in "A League of Their Own," my prized new bookbag wacks the head of every student seated on the aisle- it's only a matter of time before I become "that girl with the bag." You know the one- nearly every class has one. I may need to go shopping for a new bookbag sooner than I had planned...

Until then, I'll stick it out and try to tame my rowdy teenager of a bag. Let's just hope my classmates have hard heads.