Bishop Gorman seniors pay tribute to their last year of childhood through the long-standing tradition of carrying children’s backpacks. 

This trend first began by seniors across the country in 2008, and has become mainstream through social media apps such as Tik Tok, Instagram and more. It has now become a tradition each year for senior classes.

Instead of shopping for solid color backpacks from Nike or Lululemon like other teens, the class of 2025 shopped for Disney, Marvel, and cartoon character backpacks. Cecelia Sanchez ‘25 stated, “the most trending backpacks I see are the Cars Lightning McQueen backpacks or the Spider-Man backpacks.”

Valentina Moore ‘25 stated about her Lightning McQueen backpack, “the amount of compliments I’ve gotten from my bag is crazy.” 

Others don’t have mainstream backpacks, but the personal significance of the trend is very strong. Taylor Chapman ‘25, who is using the actual backpack that she had in kindergarten, said “to me, my backpack really just makes everything come full circle, I started school with this bag, and I’m ending school with this bag.” 

For some seniors, finding a practical backpack was a struggle. Bryce Grove ‘25 states “I didn’t realize how small the kid backpacks truly are.” Backpacks that were once the perfect size for a smaller child are now hilariously undersized.

Overall, the class of 2025 is enjoying their final year as high schoolers in a colorful, fun and expressive way that inspires the community and creates memories. Bobby Engel ‘25 stated, “I feel more connected to my classmates participating in the trend.”