As she unzipped the smallest pocket in her Elsa kiddie backpack, senior Sadie Splinter reached inside to find a pink superman mask with the letter ‘S’ in the middle of the forehead that she wore during Sir Kensington’s fifth birthday party in Feb.

Splinter was recruited to be one of the blue leaders her senior year, and this opportunity gave her fun high school experiences that allowed her to make the atmosphere better at school. 

“Mr. Mirandola and all of the blue leaders thought it would be fun to add something to third quarter since everyone is usually tired and down during this part of the year since we are so close to spring break,” Splinter said. “So we decided it would be fun to throw Sir Kensington a birthday party during all lunches: just something fun to do.”  

She was thrilled to sing and dance side by side with her other blue leaders for hours on that day, while also passing out slices of cake to her classmates. This simple, pink mask reminded her of the experiences she has been fortunate to have while ending her high school career.

“I thought everyone had a good time and it was just so much fun,” Splinter said. “It was a cool experience as well since it was their first time ever doing this event, and I hope they continue on with it.” 

Since the first day of kindergarten, a backpack can be used for not only school, but also for travel and work. They hold memorabilia, as well as something as simple as a calculator or pencil case. However, every student’s backpack represents them in some sort of way. This is especially prominent in whatever may be contained inside of them, as it can really show someone’s passions or interests. 

Specifically, a recent trend overcame schools across the country to have senior students purchase a kiddie backpack rather than a plain colored college backpack. The idea was to showcase their final year in high school and to take time to reflect back on their childhood.

“I own a Disney princess backpack, and I chose it because I was obsessed with all things Disney princess when I was younger,” senior Michaela Valkova said. “So I felt like it was a good design to choose since it represented my childhood the most in a way.” 

An interesting object that Valkova holds in her backpack is a small Aurora plush keychain only around two and a half inches long. Although it may seem like something silly to carry around in a backpack, this once pin, now a plushie, has sentimental meaning to Valkova as she was given it to her as a gift from her late grandfather. 

During a Bulgarian celebration, her grandfather gave her this object as a gift. Originally, this plushie had red and white strings tied to the bottom of it because of the religious holiday belief that if you wear red and white strings they bring you good luck as the spring begins. 

“I think it’s sentimental to me because it is one of the few things I have actually from my grandpa, as he lived in a different country,” Valkova said. “I was never able to meet him in person before he died, so it’s like having a part of him in a way.”

Valkova is not the only student with meaningful gifts being stirred around with other objects in her backpack. Very similarly, junior Sienna Murray has a pen handcrafted and gifted to her by her very own grandfather. 

“He made it for me and all my cousins, it’s like our school colors,” Murray said. “He had us pick what design we wanted in the middle and then he put it together because he does a lot of woodworking and stuff like that.” 

Murray has cousins that go to neighboring high schools such as Rolling Meadows or Stevenson, but even the college students get matching pens like her cousin that attends Purdue. It is a great way for Murray to be reminded of her family throughout the school day whenever she uses the pen, which is quite often. 

Murray’s grandpa retired, so he puts his free time to lots of woodworking using the workshop he has in his basement. He has created lots of objects for his family outside of the pens and will continue to do so Murray says. 

“He makes us wooden ornaments for Christmas every year and it’s a different design each year,” Murray said. “Each kid gets one, so I have at least 20 at home since I have two siblings.” 

From sentimental gifts to something as simple as a notebook, backpacks hold everything for a student during the school year. No one backpack is going to be the same as they all reflect the person that owns it. They can showcase their life experiences, values and memories that the person may hold close to their heart.