Walking down the hallway, seniors Brandon Li and Caden Maupin are greeted with laughs and stares. To round out high school, they chose to use decorated children’s backpacks that depict characters from a recently popular video game, Among Us, which has been a hot topic in internet meme culture for the past few months.
“I was inspired by my friend Christian who had an Among Us beanie that you could put over your head, and I had the idea, since we were all getting kids backpacks, to all get Among Us ones,” Li said. “It started off as a joke, but then it turned into a big thing with a lot of people.”
Seniors Austin Groves, Carter Wiegand, Ryan Howard, Blake Walter, and Charlie Schmidt joined Li and Maupin. All seniors plan to keep them for the entire year.
“Seniors wearing small backpacks is a fun trend, and when everyone gets one it makes them feel more involved with the joke,” Li said.
Along with the humorous designs, each backpack comes in a smaller size, adding to the overall joke.
“I think it’s interesting how small the backpacks are,” senior Sophia Moore said. “It really shows how some people prefer fashion to function.”
On the wider scale, these seniors are not alone. Seniors around Howell, and even around the globe are participating in this yearly trend. TikTok users post clips of people with the backpacks in support of the trend, and stores like Target and Walmart find it hard to keep children’s bags in stock, with their shelves being empty for weeks on end with limited supply for younger students.
“The backpacks were very scarce,” senior Hudson Troyer said. “I had to look in Lake St. Louis and on Highway K before I could find a boys’ one.”
Even with the high demand, seniors still find a way to find and sport the tiny backpacks throughout the school.
“Sometimes the backpacks are super annoying because they’re super immature, but sometimes they catch me off guard, and I laugh pretty hard,” senior Lily Redfield said.
To be a part of the trend, senior Kyra Blondin chose to bring a small purple sparkly backpack, depicting pop singer Jojo Siwa. “The backpacks make school a little more fun, and it’s a good conversation starter,” senior Kyra Blondin said.
“I think it’s a fun way to express your inner child,” Troyer said. “It brings back memories from elementary school.” Troyer chose to use a small backpack with a minion on it.
The backpacks allow for seniors to be reminded of their times in elementary school, and they pose as a fun way to wrap up their final moments before graduation.