You walk through the school halls and you see someone wearing a colorful hot pink Hello Kitty backpack or maybe a backpack resembling the shape of a race car. No, that is not a six-year-old, that’s a UC High Senior.

   Senior backpacks. What are they? Why do seniors have them? Well, it has become a running tradition for seniors at UC High, and around the country, to pick a kid’s backpack for their last year of high school. The choices for themes mostly consist of cartoon characters or Disney movies like Cars or Disney princesses. And while not every senior participates, this has become a fun and wholesome tradition that upcoming seniors look forward to participating in every year. Though it started as just a trend, Senior Audri Hustoft, who wears a Little Mermaid backpack, said, “…it started to symbolize growing up.” While seniors wear the characters that they used to adore, they are also saying goodbye to that part of themselves and welcoming a new era of young adulthood.

   With all the fun that comes with it, these backpacks symbolize more than just a cool way to carry school supplies. They are also symbolic of seniors holding onto their childhood for their last year of high school. Senior Owen King, who chose a Toy Story themed backpack, said, “I got a kids backpack my senior year because it feels like a full-circle moment. This is my last year being a ‘kid’ before I go off to attend college.” He talks about how it gives him a chance to relive his childhood and embrace nostalgia.                      

   According to an article about senior backpacks, “The backpacks represent a generation struggling with growing up faster than they wanted to and finding comfort in the last moments of childhood.” Even though it may seem like a random pick of a character or a movie, it seems these backpacks often have a connection to the seniors’ younger selves (vhsmirror.com).

   Whether it is a backpack of Elsa showing off her ice powers or Spiderman swinging through buildings, this trend has been going on for longer than you might think. According to VNHSMirror, “This tradition began as a TikTok trend that took off right after the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted and students returned to in-person school in 2021.” The trend gave students a chance to celebrate the return to school and visit their childhood memories while doing it (vnhsmirror.com).

   While most seniors pick cartoon characters for their backpacks, there are endless options. It’s a chance to truly express yourself through your favorite childhood memories. King said that part of his decision to get a kids backpack was to honor his favorite childhood characters. While growing up, you start to realize what an important role those characters played in your life. They helped build your identity and taught you things that changed the way you view life.

   Seniors have found a tradition that brings more fun to their last year of high school. They get to relive their childhood and find a sense of nostalgia they might have lost while growing up. While it may have started as a trend that seniors got to share with their friends, it turned into a way to reconnect with their pasts before venturing off to adulthood.