Much like Christmas, “Back to School” seems to starts a little bit earlier every year.
My local Wal-Mart is already assembling their big school supplies section, complete with an impressive array of Dark Knight backpacks and Dora the Explorer lunch boxes. Suffice to say, the Big Box selection isn’t always relevant to the non-traditional student, but the prices sure beat the college bookstore.
I’ve always loved school supplies, office supplies, stationery, etc. Being back in school often tempts me to go overboard on supplies– but financial realities will force me to take a complete inventory before tackling the sales.
Off the top of my head, I know I’ve still got perfectly good Pilot G2 gel pens (the “fastest” pens I’ve found, perfect for quick and smooth note-taking) and plenty of Bic mechanical pencils from last year. I’ve got at least one full package of loose-leaf notebook paper, and too much graph paper left over from Statistics class. My sturdy red Columbia backpack certainly has many more vibrant years left in it.
It’s been a long time, but I remember whining and begging for new stuff as a little girl, and my mom saying, “But your pencil box from last year is perfectly fine!”
The back-to-school industry seems to make us believe that we need to freshly stock up on everything each September. Not necessarily. We should understand that by the time we’re non-traditional students. (wink)
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I used to get my kids new back packs every year. Then a few years ago my son found one he loved. He used it for FOUR years before he finally let me retire it. It would not come clean but he loved it. My daughter is reusing hers this year from last year. Since this is my first year in college i guess I will have to purchase one for me. Decisions Decisions.
@ writewoman: I highly recommend L.L. Bean for backpacks. Their stuff is really well-made and lasts forever.