These seniors start high school with the ‘comfort’ of childhood backpacks

Mariana Dale explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.

Published Aug 26, 2025 4:00 PM

A girl with medium-light skin tone turns for a portrait. On her back is a backpack that says "Roll with it," and has a picture of Peppa Pig, a bright pink cartoon pig.

While fears of immigration raids clouded the back to school season, some lighthearted student traditions persist.

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These seniors start high school with the ‘comfort’ of childhood backpacks

Tuesday was the first day of school for about 63,000 students in the Long Beach Unified School District.

Seniors at Lakewood High School sported their “kid backpacks,” as an homage to their younger years.

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Adrianna Tanaka ordered a pink Peppa Pig backpack from Amazon. “Her really spunky personality — it really resonates with me 'cause I'm the same way,” Tanaka said. “I just grew up with her. … it's comforting.”

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Lakewood seniors told LAist that upperclassmen and social media posts inspired their backpacks.

“ It's a little bit of a culture within the kids,” said Principal Mona Merlo. “Whatever today's trend is, all the kids are jumping on it.”

Merlo’s son had a Minecraft bag his senior year at an LBUSD school.

A student with light skin tone, medium brown hair, a mustache and goatee wears a gray and brown checked shirt.

"You gotta just have fun," Asher Wilder said of why he joined the senior backpack trend. "It's your last year in school."

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Mariana Dale

LAist

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A teenage boy has his back to the camera outside a brick building's entrance way. He wears a blue backpack that says "Pokémon" on the top and has pictures of characters Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, and Eevee.

Wilder chose a Pokémon backpack, in part because he shares a similar name to the series' longtime protagonist.

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Mariana Dale

LAist

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A teenage girl with dark skin tone and long curly black hair turns for a portrait outside. On her back is a blue, white, yellow and red Hello Kitty backpack. Over her ears she wears Hello Kitty headphones.

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A teenage girl with long hair turns her back to the camera. On her back is a backpack themed like a Minion, the small yellow workers from the movie "Despicable Me."

LAist forgot to ask if this backpack came with a banana.

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Mariana Dale

LAist

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A teenage girl with medium-light skin tone and long wavy hair poses for a portrait under a tree. A line of adults can be seen in the background.

Melanie Mendoza said the senior backpack trend brings back "that little kid feeling in you."

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Mariana Dale

LAist

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Students across the country have embraced the nostalgic backpack tradition in the years since returning from the pandemic.

Seniors walked through an inflatable tunnel to their first classes with the bittersweet feeling of excitement mixed with sadness.

A teenage boy with thick curly hair has his back to the camera, standing next to a short hedge. On his back is a fuzzy backpack featuring a snail.

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

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Mariana Dale

LAist

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A teenage boy with medium skin tone smiles for a portrait in front of a low hedge outside. He wears a backpack with light blue straps.

SpongeBob SquarePants, but also his loyal snail Gary, featured on the back of Lakewood senior Victor Rodriguez.

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Mariana Dale

LAist

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“ I'm not gonna be able to see my friends like [as] often,” predicted senior Victor Rodriguez. ”It's life. So just stay in touch as much as you can.”

But if he learned anything from SpongeBob, the inspiration for his Gary the snail backpack, it’s “don’t take life too seriously.”

Amid first day excitement, preparing to keep students safe

While students shopped for their perfect backpack, Long Beach Unified educators and administrators prepared to reopen campuses amid increased immigration enforcement actions throughout the region.

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There have been no reported interactions with immigration officials at Long Beach schools. However, several Southern California school-age children have been detained and deported since the start of the raids this summer, including a 9-year-old Torrance boy. Last spring, staff at two Los Angeles Unified elementary schools turned away Homeland Security agents who sought access to five students to conduct “wellness checks.”

A woman with light skin tone wearing a red polo high fives a teen boy with dark skin tone and blue headphones, as other people walk by outside.

Superintendent Jill Baker said all staff who interact with students and families, including front office and campus safety staff, were trained how to respond to immigration officials on school grounds in the spring and 1,000 employees received additional preparation in the two weeks before the first day.

“ICE is not allowed on our campuses,” Baker said. “Our staff are ready to defend the perimeters of our schools to ensure that families see and feel that inclusive and welcoming environment and the safety that they can expect from Long Beach Unified.”

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These seniors start high school with the ‘comfort’ of childhood backpacks

Amid first day excitement, preparing to keep students safe

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