Sydney Life

There are many kinds of bags that you one can take to uni, I realise. Tote bag, handbag, satchel, backpack, green bag and no bag! Obviously, as has been mentioned by the other bloggers here, there are different bags that people can and will take to uni. However, this is not a post that will hail the fortunes of all the bags there are. There's a time and place for those sorts of shenanigans. This is about why one kind of bag is better than them all, and how that bag is the backpack.

Okay, okay, okay... "BACKPACK?!" I hear you say. "HOW DAGGY, HOW REPULSIVE TO MY FASHIONISTA SENSES, I PLAN TO LEAVE BACKPACKS THE WAY THAT I AM GOING TO LEAVE YEAR 12 AND EMBRACE THE WORLD AHEAD OF ME... WITH RELISH."

Hm. Firstly. Halt with all the caps-lock. It's hurting my eyes. Secondly, I know exactly what you are talking about. In my first year at uni, I used a backpack perhaps twice in the whole year and it wasn't with pride. I was a tried and true tote bag toter. But then... back problems. I'm not kidding. I'm the sort of person who will bring a lot of things with her to uni - or anywhere, for that matter - because I can and because I always need to be prepared. Do you know the chances of rain on a sunny day? Take an umbrella. What if I run out of ink in my pen? Bring a pencil case with four spares. What if I fall over? Bring some plasters and mini-dettol. What if I get hungry? Snackage! This is just a small insight into my clearly awesome mentality. It also indicates why my tote bag might have been a lot heavier than other totes out there, and why I started experiencing some back and shoulder pains towards the end of first year.

Blaming the tote bag for all my problems evolved when a friend of mine offered to carry my bag for me one afternoon and commented that it was insanely heavy. Everything clicked into place! The shoulder pain! The awkward slouch I was developing! Seriously, what the-- OH MY IT WAS THE TOTE BAG. Carrying a lot of things, particularly if you carry them on one side consistently, is a big no-no. When schools around Australia started enforcing backpacks instead of satchels, they weren't just trying to make you shell out for some super chiro-approved backpack gizmo - it was for the back safety of future generations! I realised that I had to embrace the turtleback once and for all...

The transition to the backpack isn't that bad, really. It's a lot easier to carry around books and folders - and very helpful if you decide to take the old laptop to uni one day for some in-library essay writing. Also, my backpack is super cool because it has different sections which means that I can put my keys/phone/spare change/etc. in one section and not have to root around for them for about 10 minutes if I suddenly need them (as was the case, I now realise retrospectively, with the tote bag) - super!

So to all of you hovering on the territory into backpackdom, I entice you all to come along and join us*. It's great, pain free AND if you're nice I'll give you a nifty keyring to accessorise with :)

*Us. Yes! There is an 'us' when referring to those who use the backpack. I've noticed that around campus the numbers are steadily rising as well. Could this be a backpack revolution? I can smell change in the wind!