Seventeen-year-olds with Spiderman backpacks? The same water bottle at every desk? As the school year starts up, back-to-school trends are in full swing here at Northside.

Students have started the school year with backpacks showcasing reminders of their younger years. From video game characters, to superheroes, seniors are sporting colorful backpacks to take to class.

Eddie De La Rosa is a senior at Northside. He has had a senior nostalgia backpack since the first day of school.

“Why do I have a senior backpack? Because I feel like I want to connect back to my roots as a child, and I want to feel like a kid again, even though I’m about to graduate,” said Eddie.

Nostalgia seemingly plays a big role in the trend overall. With senior year reminding people that they’re at the beginning of the end of high school, students are searching for every possible connection to their younger selves. To Eddie, his backpack represents “personal nostalgia” and a connection to his family. The backpack, which used to be his little brother’s, showcases a popular video game he used to play earlier in life, a callback to a younger Eddie.

Senior backpacks aren’t just being noticed by students. Teachers, especially those with senior advisories, have seen a rise in participation in the trend. Ms. Shah, a senior advisor at Northside, has noticed students using these backpacks.

“I did see one senior who had a backpack that would have been for a younger child and I didn’t really make the connection because I haven’t seen people [using them before], but I do think as you’re approaching college, it does make sense that you would be reflecting on your time as a kindergartner or a younger student. So I do think it’s sweet,” Ms. Shah said.

Another senior advisor, Lu Laoshi, said she “noticed right away” when asked if she had seen any senior backpacks. Similarly to Ms. Shah, she was also a bit confused when she first saw them during her advisory.

“It got my attention. I was curious about why they were using the [dinosaur] backpacks. They explained it to me. I find it cute…[I] didn’t give it too much [thought], though,” said Lu Laoshi.

Learning the meaning behind the senior backpacks, Lu Laoshi gave us a word to describe how she feels about her advisory graduating this year: 寂しい. Pronounced “sabishii”, the Japanese word encapsulates all of Lu Laoshi’s emotions.

“Sad is not a good description. [It’s] sadness, but not just sadness. Loneliness, with a hint of satisfaction…Little bit [of] pride…That kind of feeling, there’s no good English word,” Lu Laoshi said. The nostalgia behind the backpacks brings back memories from the student’s first days of high school – for not only the seniors, but their teachers too.

This trend hasn’t been around too long though. Growing up near Shanghai, China, Lu Laoshi’s school days seemed like a “totally different world” from ours. “[The] backpacks I used are not worth mentioning…[But if you] look at schools in China now, students are carrying fancy high-end name backpacks.” The trend appears to be most popular in the United States, though decorating with keychains and accessories has spread worldwide.

The senior backpack trend, which is seemingly popular among upperclassmen and the teachers they interact with, is not as noticeable to underclassmen. One freshman, Justin Borges, hasn’t even noticed them.

Even though he was not aware of the trend, Justin was not opposed to the idea of senior backpacks. When asked if he would participate in the trend when he becomes a senior, Justin was unsure but said the idea was “pretty cool,” an encouraging statement for the future of the trend.

Senior backpacks aren’t the only trend students have seen coming back to school. Owalas, a viral water bottle, have gained popularity over the summer among all ages.

For Tracy, a Northside Junior who is an Owala owner and self-proclaimed Owala enthusiast, it was only a matter of time before she purchased one of her own. “I think the colors and the way it’s built are really nice.”

So, what made her want to join in on this trend? Like many others when it comes to social media trends, Tracy was originally a bit skeptical.

”I think at first, I was just like ‘there’s nothing special about this water bottle.’” But as she started looking into it, she became interested. “Whenever you drink [from] it, it makes you look like a koala, and I thought that was a cute trait. The fact that it has a straw and a free sip, and that it holds quite a bit of water, is also nice. I think TikTok definitely influenced my decision to get an Owala.”

Now she thinks the enthusiasm around Owalas is “very valid,” and claims “they’re better looking and more efficient than Stanleys,” another trending water bottle.

Additionally, Tracy was asked about her opinion on senior backpacks, stating “I think it’s a cute idea to wrap your school year all in one.” When considering whether or not she would participate in the trend during her senior year, she stated she would “most likely” participate with either a My Little Pony or a Dora themed backpack.

On the surface, back-to-school and summer trends seem to only serve the purpose of “fitting in” or “having fun.” But to many students, these “trends” act as a form of self-expression. To seniors, who only have one year of high school left, these backpacks are a reminder of their younger selves as they head towards the future.