The Things We Carry

    As students, the things we carry are largely determined by our identities. True, we all carry the same learning utensils: pens, pencils, paper - but those items constitute only a small fraction of what we carry. No, we carry everything from the profoundest of dreams to the most superficial of possessions. We are what we carry - we carry what we are.

    We carry tupperwares of baked goods to share with our friends. We carry posters, books, phones, tech projects, art projects, portfolios, briefcases, instruments, headphones, speakers, cosmetic appliances, athletic equipment, our change of clothes for sports practice, our change of clothes for work. I know of not one but three highly intellectual young men who all, at some point, have made a habit of carrying their winter coats around all day. The trend always struck me as comical. I joke about wearing mine around school--perhaps, imitating their idiosyncrasies might make me as bright and successful as they are.

    Identity dictates the things we carry. Because she is an artist, a friend of mine carries a watercolor palette fashioned out of an Altoids container. Because he is a programmer, someone else I know carries his laptop, and in the mornings, works on developing his own programming language. Because they are scared, those “in the loop” carry the latest gossip and pass it on to anyone willing to listen. We carry smiles, laughter, compliments. We carry our memories, our heritage, and our past. We carry our future, even if we have lost faith in it; we carry responsibility, even if we do not carry it out.

    On top of all this, we carry pressure: pressure to figure out who we are, what we want to do. If we do not find the answers to these questions, how are we to know what we should carry with us into the rest of our lives? We cannot carry everything we fancy. And in getting caught up with what we are to do with ourselves, we forget what we are to do with others. In the hallways of our school, it is not uncommon for an individual to accidentally drop all of which he carries. As he scrambles onto the floor to collect his belongings, many walk by unaffected. Blinded by their own pursuit for identity, they believe the things he carries have little to do with them. True identity is only borne, then, of those individuals willing to carry the things of others. Yes--true identity is only borne of those who come to their aid, help them in the name of kindness, so that they might stand up and carry on.