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Back-to-school shopping can be hit or miss. It is a bittersweet season. I remember, as a little kid, getting so excited about going back to school. The shopping for new clothes and school supplies. The excitement about seeing your friends again, and it was always fun to see how much kids changed over the three-month summer break.
Then, as I got older, I still loved shopping for new school clothes, but I remember getting stressed out about school supplies. Mainly because my mom would often go shopping without me. I know she meant well, but Mom would always choose function over fashion. I hated being the only girl at school with plain-Jane folders and boring, yellow, number-two pencils when the other girls had folders with their favorite musicians and personalized pencils – or MECHANICAL PENCILS! Those were super cool.
There’s a special electricity in the air this time of year with back-to-school shopping that I still feel today. And anxiety. I still feel the anxiety associated with going back to school. Will I know where my classes are? Will I be able to unlock my locker quickly enough to get to class on time? Will I or one of my friends find a new friend group, and how will I feel about that?
And I will never forget this … It was eighth grade and our English teacher, Ms. Amesbury, insisted we all have a large three-ring binder for all the paperwork she was going to give us. While everyone else had a cool binder that expressed their personality, mine was orange with a pink grid pattern on it. It was the last one in the bargain bin, and it was all mine. I was mortified. I never shook that feeling. It stayed with me to this day.
Listen, moms and dads, don’t ruin your child by getting them dorky back-to-school items. Today, you don’t have to break the bank to get some cool stuff for your cool kid, so they feel cool when they walk the halls this school year. Be the hero, not the zero with back-to-school shopping.