I remember shopping for school supplies with my mom in late August. I love stationery stores. I have had a pen and notebook addiction most of my life. It was so exciting to check things off the list, the scissors, glue, pencil crayons in the pencil case, the new reams of paper (that smelled divine, yes?), three-ring binders with tabs.
When school began, life turned into a game of what went into the backpack (and consequences from what was forgotten). Textbooks, binders, a packed lunch — how did I ever carry all this stuff everywhere all the time? I went to my locker in the break and just switched out one textbook and binder for another. Then I weighed myself down with extra-curricular commitments and study and anxiety for my future.
Fast forward twenty years.
I eventually moved to the Czech Republic to become a teacher of English as a Foreign Language. This is a backpack nation. To the point where the public transportation system has signs reminding passengers to take off their backpacks (put them on the ground or hold them in the hands) so there is enough room for people. Now I had my laptop, and my power bank, and my paper folder of…
