Walk into any college classroom or study space and you will find students basking in the glow of their Macbooks like fat cats lying in the sun (Meow!)
Furthermore, you will most likely be barraged with visual punches to the eyeballs. The fists? Eye-catching and meticulously arranged stickers plastered on aforementioned gadgets.
College is a time of vigorous exploration and proclamation of self. Kiddos are delving deep into what makes them tick, and then overtly yelling that ticky tacky thing into the world. (You know that scene in The Office where Michael declares bankruptcy by screaming the words “I declare bankruptcy” for the whole office to hear? It’s like that but instead of a middle aged man hollering about his financial plight, it’s a bunch of 20-somethings yelling about their most recent Savers find.)
With that in mind, the customization of a standard student tool by way of stickers makes a lot of sense. Growing up means defining your interests to yourself, to the world, and to your Tinder bio. Today, definitions of thyself are writ on laptops; yesterday, they were writ on a certain iconic piece of rubberized footwear.
Laptop stickers are the college-age version of Jibbitz charms sold as accessories for Crocs, the shoe that took the nation by storm circa 2005.
You had them, or you knew someone who had them. Maybe that person was me. On my turquoise pair of Crocs, a theme of sporty junk: a basketball and the logo of my local NFL team (Who Dey! Oh wait, I don’t care about organized sports anymore), and a foam finger to show that #ball was indeed #life.
On my lime green pair, something more delicate: a purple flower placed on my third metatarsal, a small smiley face punctuating my big toe. These two pairs of Crocs contained the multifaceted dimensions of self that my young form harbored. These Crocs, adorned in their Jibbitz, were a healthy and unabashed proclamation of Danahood.
Just as my laptop stickers are now. Take my “Like No Udder” sticker, which advertises that I enjoy the simplicity of a non-dairy confection. My “I support Western KY Public Radio” sticker, which subtly notes my enthusiasm for Kentucky’s public radio endeavors. My Twitter bird to say “Yeah, I have witticisms and hot takes and I’m spilling them out in 140 piping characters.”
Maybe your shoes were Jibbitz-less and non-rubberized as a child. Maybe your computer has that clean, naked look going on (put some clothes on that thing!) Regardless, I bet you engage in some external manifestation of your interests: A tattoo, a button on your book bag with a message you support, or even a t-shirt with a cat wrapped in a tortilla that says “purrrrito.”
Cat pun or not, declare yourself and declare proudly through your many capricious phases. Some will stick (heh :-D) while others won’t.