By Kailyn Huynh
Every day, around 3000 students at Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) walk into their classes with backpacks or tote bags. Surrounded by so many other peers, it’s likely that this daily pattern will eventually lead to a few of them finding someone with the same bag.
So, students found a way to personalize their belongings through keychains and accessories, and many Barons choose to decorate their backpacks with stuffed toys.
Whether they were received as a gift, used to match with a friend or simply there because it’s cute and comforting, these plush keychains have taken over the FVHS campus.
Take a look at some of the backpack buddies Barons have displayed below. Photos by Kailyn Huynh.
“My friend Viv gave me the My Melody, and I’ve had it since last school year. I got Loopy from @oddlyfloral this year. I love them both so much,” junior Kaylee Dubon said.
Junior Anna Nguyen got her keychains from POP MART, and her friend also shares these same identical plushies. Nguyen explained how it’s difficult to obtain similar ones, given the randomness of the blind box which they come from, but she and her friend were able to each find two of the same type.
“It’s cute … we want people to see that we’re matching,” Nguyen said.
Plush keychains are one way that Barons choose to customize their backpacks, but perhaps it serves a greater purpose — comforting people, reminding us of our childhood and maybe, even, bringing us closer to home and each other.
