My Backpack Finally Fell Apart

We all have items we hold onto for a long time. These things cannot be destroyed easily or we refuse to let them go even if they fall apart. Whether it's a favorite jacket, childhood stuffed animal or something else of importance, we don't like getting rid of what we become attached to. Unfortunately I came across a scenario last week where I was forced to be rid of one of my longest lasting personal belongings, my high school backpack.

During my childhood and due to our family business falling on hard times my family didn't have a whole lot of expendable income. We lived comfortably but we didn't spend money on unnecessarily expensive things or items that could be bought in a cheaper form. As such we made a lot of things last as long as they could. One such thing was my bookbag I had been using since 6th grade. It was this cheap Walmart brand backpack that had been worn out to its max by sophomore year of high school because my school forced us to carry around textbooks that were too heavy for the backpack to handle. So it came time for me to get a new one.

We went to the store to pick out a new one soon after the 6th grade one broke. Naturally my Mom said to get the exact same model as my old one because it was cheap. But I wasn't having it. I know it's weird for a guy to care about something as small as a backpack, but my 6th grade one was uncomfortable, sat weird on my body no matter how I adjusted it, and was made of the thinnest weakest material Walmart could overcharge me for. So after a lengthy argument with my Mom she finally agreed to let me get a more expensive backpack with a higher quality to it. She didn't like spending twice the price on it for me, but I didn't care because I knew it was worth it.

My old backpack

This backpack lasted me over seven years. Even for an expensive backpack at that time it should've broke years ago. But I took very good care of it and made sure not to overload it like my previous one. It was made of a tougher material and had multiple layers to it, so damage was localized and easy for me to fix or clean. And it had plenty of pockets so all my belongings weren't jumbled inside. It was perfect for what I needed for a long time.

To put in perspective the breadth of time and distance I had this backpack for I put a few stats below. My old backpack was with me for:

3 different countries

Nearly the entire east coast

9 family vacations

My first ever airplane flight

Hundreds of thousands of miles of travel

One river I fell into

And me losing it on an airplane bound for Washington D.C.

Unfortunately even the sturdiest things can fall into disrepair. That thing was my backpack last week, which finally tore at the seams and I could not find a way to repair it. So now I am unto the next backpack. But it was an interesting thought experiment to look back and remember how much one item has been with me for most of my life over the past seven years.