Backpacks and Lockers

Most Shawnee Heightsians think that lockers are a joke. But are they really?

“Hahaha, you use your locker? You’re such a loser.” I know I’ve heard it before. I used my locker my freshman year, becuase my backpack couldn’t hold everything, and my locker was conveniently place near two of my classes. I don’t know why, but at Shawnee Heights that just isn’t cool and peer pressure usually wins. But why give into peer pressure when you could hurt yourself? (that sounds so cheesy)

Who came up with the idea of a backpack? Some guy in 1980 that wanted his belongings to be easier to carry and out of his way…right? Probably. But those two reasons don’t justify the following…

1. Backpacks without any padding can be very uncomfortable, especially when you are carrying oddly shaped items in your pack. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really like something prodding at my kidneys when I’m trying to walk and talk. Have you ever been poked in your kidney? It gives you that kind of feeling like “Ohhh, can’t breathe, ouch, ahhh, breathe, ohh.” I don’t like that happening for 10 minutes between each class.

2. The wrong placement of straps can be a very big pain. If the straps are too close they can pinch nerves in your neck, which can do a lot of damage if your backpack is to heavy. This is like someone walking up and grabbing your neck/shoulder area really hard. Again, I don’t know anyone that likes that.

3. When you carry a heavy bookbag you have to hunch forward to keep from falling backwards. If you do it on a regular basis, it can cause long term misalignment of your spine. “Hello. I’m Jerry. I’m 30 years old and suffer from scoliosis from carrying a heavy bookbag in high school.” Yes, it happens.

4. When you carry your bookbag on one shoulder, trying to look cool or something, you are really being stupid. This can cause more misalignment, muscle fatigue, and long term health problems. And you do this because you want to be cool?

5. Alright. Here is something you will really think is bogus. Your backpack should weigh no more than 15% of your body weight. So here are the numbers. If you weigh 130 pounds, your backpack shouldn’t weight more than 19.5 pounds. An average high school textbook weighs something like five to eight pounds. So three to six books? Along with notebooks, pencils, pens? A book for casual reading? An agenda? A waterbottle? Yeah. Thats what I thought. Much more weight than you should be handling.

So whats the solution? Hmm….let me think here….uh….lockers? Duh. It obvious. Look stupid with a locker, and save money on health insurance in ten years…I’m serious.

But, there can’t be tons of cake without some nasty brussle sprouts. With construction this year we have short passing times. Will you really have time to stop by a locker?…Probably…if you have it on the way to your next class. Walk fast. Even if you don’t make it in the door before the bell rings you will probably be excused. Just tell them you had come from the other end of the other building, and had to stop by your locker.

Look stupid at a locker, be comfortable without lugging a heavy backpack around. It’s that simple. In fact, I think I’m going to walk into the school office tomorrow, and ask if there are any available lockers near my AP History class, my Algebra II class, my CP Chemistry class, and my Composition class. Maybe they’ll give them to me. Maybe I’ll have three or four lockers. Maybe I’ll save my back. Maybe I’ll be better off. We’ll just have to see.

*I got most of my facts from backpacksafe.com*