When I was younger, one of my favorite times of year was school supply season.

Like every child, I dreaded going back to school, but if it meant that I got to pick out new gear, I started off my new year a little less begrudgingly.

I think most pre-teens and teenagers look forward to back-to-school shopping because they get to pick out new clothes, but I’ve always been more interested in picking out notebooks and finding the best pencils.

Being the weird kid I was, I couldn’t wait to race through the aisles of G.L. Perry (and later Walmart when the former closed), picking out a brand new box of colored pencils, a new set of markers and a new backpack.

This week, as students who could not afford these supplies received them from generous organizations donating them, I realized how fortunate I was to be able to pick out these supplies year after year.

I was delighted to see how excited the children were to receive such items, fondly remembering my own memories. I’m so thankful for organizations like The United Way, Salvation Army and The Bridge in Dowagiac who make them available.

Thanks to laws that have been passed since I graduated, teachers can no longer make school supply purchases mandatory. Nonetheless, I’m sure there are plenty of children out there who get excited for the new tools, and I think it’s really great that these entities fulfill those wishes.

My parents taught me at an early age not to fall under the spell of name brand “necessities.” I never really went through a phase where I felt I needed $80 Hollister jeans or Abercrombie hoodies, which were the “in” attire that identified the “popular” students.

While my parents did their best to provide these items for us anyway, they always made the items that helped our education seem more appealing, and I guess I sort of took for granted that not all students could afford them.

While the luxuries I associate with my childhood tend to fit more in the apparel aisles at the store, it seems the “wants” younger generations are interested in become more and more expensive.

It’s not uncommon for young children to have iPads or cell phones, and while I think both can be convenient, educational tools for people of any age, I think some of us get so consumed in the gadgets that we forget how fortunate we are to be able to afford them.

With children who cannot afford pencils, backpacks or new clothes, I think we all could stand to take a look at our own fortunes and count our blessings.

If you or your children can afford luxuries like iPads, laptops and cell phones, that’s great, but why not teach your children early on that not all youth are so fortunate?

Organizations like the ones who offered these backpack drives are always accepting donations. If you are one of the more fortunate families who can afford new school supplies, I encourage you to buy a second set and donate them to a service organization, or even your child’s classroom, or make a financial contribution to either.

Every child deserves to be as excited for the first day of school as I remember being, and it’s up to us to do our part to help those less fortunate start their school year off right.

 

Ambrosia Neldon is the managing editor at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7713, or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com.