The Backpack Special

I've talked at great length about how painful walking can be for Chiarians, but lifting objects of any substantial weight can also hurt a lot. As other students understand, whether they are in college or high school, backpacks can weigh a ton! Literally, I weighed mine a minute ago; it weighs 15 lbs. and that's without my laptop, which I take to class with me most days. Considering that it gives me a headache to carry my purse around while shopping for half-an-hour, it’s understandable that carrying a fifteen-plus-pound backpack around during my six-hour-long school day hurts, too.

That's why I use a backpack with wheels; I only have to lift it when going up or down stairs and when getting in or out of my car. Sometimes I get self-conscious because it rattles and thumps and gets stuck on chair legs. When stuff like that happens, I worry that people see me struggling with this stubborn object and giggle behind my back.

Even if they do (which isn't likely) it's still worth it. For my first few weeks after transferring to Shepherd, I was too embarrassed to use the wheelie backpack. I carried a conventional one, 15 lbs. and all, and boy did it hurt! I ended every day with a whopper of a headache, taking meds at lunch and a nap when I got home. Finally, I gave in to my fiancé’s insistence that I use my wheelie backpack instead. It made a huge difference. Now I often make it through the school day with minimal pain (at least headache-wise) and am able to spend conscious time with my family, fiancé, and homework later in the day.

Yay for wheelie backpacks!