If you’re a college student who attends classes pretty regularly, you’re probably familiar with carrying your life on your shoulders — literally. This backpack is your constant companion. It holds all your worldly possessions, it takes on all roles and literally has your back. It also gives you a permanent muscle ache but that can be discussed later.

Tender muscles aside, backpacks and their contents within are important symbols of personality in this time and age. The things in your backpack spawn snap judgments by the hundreds. Keeping this amateur personality test in mind, The Daily Orange went scouting for things Syracuse University students would not leave out of their backpacks.

1. The Moisture Package

Hand Sanitizer, Lotion, Chapstick: Given the capricious nature of Syracuse weather, these two essentials are no-brainers for freshmen Alexandria Ferrantelli, an inclusive early childhood education major and Katie Wheatum, a dual advertising and psychology major. Upon careful reflection, it seems these three should be universal no-brainers to prevent one’s skin from looking like a rejected bag of prunes.

2. Breath mints

Or their closely-related and accessible cousins, gum. For Shazif Shaikh, a senior aerospace engineering major, breath mints are one of the first checks off a backpack bucket list. It’s always a delight to talk to someone who is quite literally refreshing. Stay fresh, stay minty.

3. Dried mangoes

Sophomore psychology major Tabitha Reyes is a stickler for sneaking healthy snacks into her backpack — specifically dried mangoes. Dried mangoes are the whole nutritional package: loaded with vitamins, fibers and carbs to keep you running, nay sprinting, to your classes.

4. Nail File

Are your classes particularly mind numbing? Are you in danger of falling into an impromptu, yet deep, sleep? No worries, just whip out your nail file and get shaping. “It gives you something to do in class,” Julieta Birmajer, a freshman Management major said. Voila, you thwart sleep and also have excellent nails that don’t look like they’ve been gnawed on.

5. TI-84 Calculator

I still haven’t purchased this calculator, but Tomas Guitteau, an undecided freshman in the Whitman school, said leaving this tool out of your backpack is a surefire way to “screw up all his classes.” He stressed that his calculator was always present, even if unused, proving itself as an essential tool.

6. Headphones

Be they earbuds or soup-bowl sized contraptions, the absence of headphones and the like from his backpack causes Matt Sasaki, a freshman television, radio and film major considerable distress.

“Forgetting them ruins my day every time,” Sasaki said.

Agreed. The day just isn’t the same without your personal pick of background music.

7. Passport

Normally, you would think it’s a long shot to ever need your passport halfway through a statistics class. But Morgan Lyons, a freshman information management and technology major, brought up a crucial point: “Just in case I wake up and have to go to Canada.”

8. Motrin

Taxing homework and long classes always come with the risk of not seeing your bed all day. But senior linguistics major Leonora Williamson always has some small weapons in her backpack to deal with any unbidden body pains and fevers. Use your backpack as an arsenal of Ibuprofen, if such a situation does arise on a demanding day.

9. Gym gear

Dried mangoes are not the only the essential for getting fit. Freshman Information Management and Technology Major Andrianie Christodoulakis said she always keeps her gym shoes and clothes handy in her backpack. She loses no time backpacking her way to the gym and a healthy lifestyle.

10. Sorority Pin

A considerable part of the collegiate population probably fervently agrees with freshman newspaper and online journalism major Rachel Day.

“I don’t want to find out what happens if I do forget it,” Day said.

So this is a reminder: keep that memory and pin sharp.

There you have it, the basic essentials of several personalities in a backpack. Some more non-negotiable items included gloves, paper clips, chargers and of course, lots of candy. Keeping the above collectibles in mind, rummage through your bag, see what you’re missing and add some more personality to your backpack.

Published on February 21, 2016 at 2:37 pm

Contact: dmurthy@syr.edu