Back to School Favorites
As we are fast approaching Labor Day and summer is coming to a close, we know what else is happening soon... It's back to school time! Some are excited to see friends again. Some are dreading class and nights of doing homework. Some are just nervous about that first day and what's in store for the rest of the year. To ease our nerves, we make sure we have all of our ducks in a row to make a great new first impression.
...And that means back to school shopping! We shop for our first day of school outfit, new backpack, school supplies, and sneakers with special care and delight.
So what was the most important item you had to have ready to go for the first day of school?
Here's a flashback of a few of our first days:
"For the first day of elementary school, I was always armed with Crayola crayons, Mr. Sketch Scented Markers (I never used them, but just admired them on my desk), and multi-colored folders covered in Lisa Frank stickers. For the first day of high school, I upgraded to Bic Rollerball pens, Sharpie markers, Five Star spiral notebooks and the dreaded TI-84 calculator. And for the first day of college, I forgot about the calculator and instead focused my energies on Moleskin notebooks and purple PaperMate marker pens." - Jerusha
"New Crayola markers (skinny and fat) AND new Crayola crayons (The biggest box I could convince my mom to buy). My Mom tried for several years to get me to recycle my supplies from the previous school year, but, if the tips of the markers or crayons weren't perfect, I wouldn't use them!" - Melissa
"Nothing was as important on the first day of school, to establish yourself socially, as the lunchbox. One wrong move, and you're at the nerd table. Nothing said 'I'm cool' like a metal Star Wars lunchbox with Thermos. That is, until I unpacked my 4-course Greek lunch. But then I would just whack the bully on the side of the head with it and BAM! Cool again." - George
"Shiny white Jack Purcell sneakers and 3-ring binders with the clear covers that I could fill with photo collages throughout the year." - Licia
"A new 8 pack of Crayola crayons. I loved how pointy and shiny they were, like 8 colorful, well-uniformed soldiers all standing at attention in their yellow and green guard house. Later in the year, they reminded me of bald-headed men of all heights with ragged collars living in cardboard boxes. A new pack smelled better, made me want to draw better, made me neater, and made me want to live up to how perfect they were. I just liked looking at them. A new box gave me confidence that anything was possible -- They were waiting for me, Ann, to create something that would end up on the classroom wall for all to admire. They weren't anything like the shoe box of hundreds of thrown together stubs that we all had to share at home, of which you couldn't find a red if your life depended on it." - Ann
"I always had to get a new outfit and have it all ready and laid out to slip on the next morning. Plus, I had to have a headband, barrettes, scrunchie or something MATCHING for my hair. Then, my mom always took pictures of my sister and me." - Whitney