Inspiron 15 laptop
Starting off very basic –– in almost every situation my eight-pound laptop comes with me. It’s my second phone which makes it the second most important thing in my life. Thus, if it’s not in my backpack, it’s probably on my lap, and I’m playing cool math games on it, or doing actual work, in rare occasions. In reality, my backpack and my laptop always go together; they’re like a two-for-one combo.
A bag of nuts from the San Francisco Airport
Here is where the insanity begins — when I went back home to Los Angeles, my backpack went overseas, or at least it traveled from living in the Bay to LA. However, when I flew back to San Francisco I just had to buy vending machine food, salted peanuts to be exact. Turns out those salted peanuts were stale and disgusting, so like anyone else would, I threw the bag of nuts into my water bottle pocket instead of a trash can and the rest is history. It wasn’t until a month later when I reached into the pocket and felt nuts digging into my nails that I immediately wanted to cry. I thought ants might’ve attacked my backpack because of it, but, luckily, ants hate peanuts. I haven’t had any insects find their way into my backpack yet. Safe to say I’m never touching that compartment and those nuts can rot in it.
Pens and pencils
I mean what other essentials could a STEM student need, besides ibuprofen and shots of coffee? More specifically though, I only keep my flower pen I got at Target like three years ago, a UC Berkeley Basic Needs Center pen, and two lead pencils in my backpack. The irony of it all is that I’ve used the pencils maybe three times since August, but what’s more studious than being able to lend some stranger a pencil when they ask to borrow one?
My hospital bracelet/Fall Risk bracelet
Along with being an airport and school backpack, my Jansport also comes in handy for any emergency room situation, especially if it involves getting your gallbladder removed during peak midterm season. The best part of being rushed to the ER, in my opinion, is the bracelet collection you get, kind of like Taylor Swift’s friendship bracelet trend… minus the friendship part. Lucky for me, I collected three hospital bands that let everyone know my SSN and were used to scan my QR code so nurses could feed me morphine through an IV. My personal favorite bracelet though was the bright yellow ‘FALL RISK,’ bracelet I got because I couldn’t walk for days after surgery. I’m too lazy to clean out my backpack so every time I open it, I can spot my bracelets at the bottom crushed by my laptop.
Math binder
‘Women in STEM!!!’ is what I tell myself when I have to lug my math binder to McCone Hall every day at 8 a.m. Unlike my laptop, which is the second most important thing in my life, this binder is my No. 1 public enemy; I hate it. Opposites attract though, so that’s probably why my binder is almost always in my backpack. It also makes for a great makeshift desk that totally doesn’t move every two seconds because it’s slanted and isn’t actually a good alternative for a desk.
A bag of earplugs
Earplugs to me are like carrots to a bunny; they go hand in hand. I hate to admit that I actually have three different pairs of earplugs in my backpack at all times. As a member of the sleeping disorder community, I can’t go anywhere without them, because, at any given moment, my brain could suddenly realize the three hours of sleep I got last night wasn’t enough. So I need earplugs to block out every noise and distraction possible. Not to mention, they’re tiny enough to sneakily fit into the tiny pockets that backpacks have that you can’t actually find a use for. On occasions, you may even find my eye mask stored with my earplugs, which is code for “I haven’t had any sleep in the last 24 hours.”
A ginormous bottle of ibuprofen
The single most important thing in my backpack. Have a headache? Take an ibuprofen. Just had gallbladder surgery and your stomach is in pain? Take an ibuprofen. Want to stop feeling the side effects of eating dining hall food? Take an ibuprofen! No matter how stuffed my backpack might be, my enormous bottle of ibuprofen will always be in it. In a way, it’s like my laptop minus eight pounds.
And with that, we’ve basically gone through everything in my backpack, minus my 17 different keys or my granola bar wrappers. Now I’m going to go through my backpack and finally empty it out, minus the salted peanuts, so you should too, unless you’re actually someone who keeps your bags regularly clean.