6 Back to School Throwbacks Every Lebanese Relates To

It’s back to school season and that means a whole lot of nostalgic sobbing about the simpler times and those long summer breaks. We’re here to help you (not) with that – here is a list of six things we miss from back to school season:

1. All the new stationary

Nothing was more exciting than going shopping for stationary (especially when we were not the ones paying for it). We all loved getting pens in 17 colors that we obviously needed, 3 sharpeners each in a different shape, and those scented erases that we were all tempted to taste. Let’s face it, it gave us class credit – the more impressive your stationery collection, the better your class status is.

2. A new bag with a matching pencil case and water thermos

The ultimate fashion statement – I’d rather this over trying to match my outfit with my shoes. And then you’d be comparing your bag and accessories with all your classmates.

3. The no uniform first day (or last day)

The unspoken rule of “no uniforms on the first day” was by far our favorite. Time to show off our fashion sense (which looking back makes me realize that we didn’t really have)! The fashion dilemma, the day before was the epitome of childhood stress. Project Runaway season we are coming for your wig!

4. Forcing our dads to perfectly laminate our books

The only exciting thing about those books was the process of laminating them, making sure the lamination is so perfect that not a single air bubble appears. The scent of new books was a big bonus as well.

5. Choosing the perfect book name tag stickers

You’re not Lebanese if you didn’t have at least one of the following iconic name tags: the basic blue ones, the Barbie ones, or the Mickey Mouse ones. It was such a hassle to find unique ones and then you’d spend hours to rock your best handwriting.

6. Post-school landline gossip

As soon as we got home, most of us ran to our landlines to call the people we just spent the entire day with to gossip about those first day fashion choices, puberty changes that hit some people over the summer, and who got the newest MP3 player.