A Student's Best Friend

My mechanical pencil is my helpful friend. She gives me just what I need, right when I need it. 

My RSVP pen is my special friend. I love him and his fine point.

My laptop is my brainy friend. Always has the answers and is a great notetaker. (a little slow at times, but I don't mention it. He's sensitive about it)

My ID card is the friend I couldn't live without. Literally. Without her I can't eat.

BUT.

My backpack is my best friend. She helps me bear all my burdens.

Freshman year, I remember trying to shove all my books into my big purse because I thought that backpacks were dorky and not sophisticated enough for an college student. My accounting book is the size of a small horse though, which made carrying it off of one shoulder somewhat difficult. Add in the Literature book (over 1000 pages) and my laptop and I made one funny picture walking around campus tilted so heavily to one side that I looked like a speed skater trying to get around a turn. Plus my poor purse couldn't handle the pressure; the handle started fraying. I suffered adverse side-effects too. One shoulder was permanently lower than the other (this deformity may be the reason I'm not dating yet . . . ) And the handles of the purse were starting to form a divet in my skin. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience.

One day I was so sick of having an aching back and wounded shoulder that I pulled out my pink and black Nike backpack from high school. I let out a few sighs while I packed it up, dreading how dorky I would look with my backpack. When I zipped it up, everything fit nicely. Huh.What a change. But still dorky, right? Then I put it on my back and discovered the magic of even weight distribution. I walked around with it all day and when I got back to my room, I didn't feel the need to ice my body to rid myself of pain. I felt good! From that moment on I didn't care how dorky it looked, because my backpack was AWESOME.

Remember what I thought about backpacks? Well, the more I wore it, the more backpacks I noticed around campus. Dorky? No. Practical and nifty? You bet your britches. I don't know what I would do without my backpack. The other day, I was afraid it would break and my heart almost stopped at the thought. My backpack is clearly my best friend.

I look back at myself as a freshman, and I remember thinking that I had everything figured out. *snort* Yeah right. I was mostly stupid. I'm so glad I'm a sophomore now and know everything there is to know about college life.

Because sophomores have it all figured out . . . right?

m(r)