In the Bag with CC

We as a culture (St Andreans) are so preoccupied with what kind of bag someone is carrying – but do we ever stop to wonder what’s inside? 

There is so much more to a bag than its exterior – its contents can tell us a lot about a bag, its uses, and the person carrying it. Contents can express style, personality, and identity just as much as the bag itself. 

Hence, the contents of a bag can be extremely interesting. This is evidenced by the popularity of Vogue’s ‘In the Bag’ series, a collection of videos where celebrities and public figures give viewers a tour of what’s inside their bag. Apparently, we are fascinated by the contents of people’s bags!

So, here’s a peek into what’s inside my bag this Martinmas. 

First and foremost, possibly my favorite thing in my bag and something I have to take everywhere with me: my keys. They are one of my favorite things out of the contents of my bag truly because of what they are connected to – my keychain, which is a Corona-branded lime-shaped bottle opener that I found this summer hiding in the depths of one of my kitchen cabinets, probably from around when my family moved into the house in 2004 (can someone say vintage!). Honestly, you never know when you (or someone else) may need a bottle opener and it can be incredibly useful. Highly recommend!

The next item may not be as practical, but is still a staple in my bag – a pair of sunglasses. Although they may seem futile in the Scottish climate, especially as of late, I like to hold out hope for the chance I might need them. This particular pair is a favorite of mine, which I actually got from a pharmacy for around 10 USD. For whatever reason, I find cheap sunglasses are much more resilient and harder to break (as a clumsy person who drops things a lot), and therefore last me so much longer than pairs that I have purchased that are much nicer and a lot more expensive. Hence why I always keep a “cheap” pair of sunglasses with me in my bag. Even in Scottish winters, they can be useful (at the very least as a headband). As they say, if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.

Speaking of accessories and volatile weather, I also love to keep a scarf on hand. Something like the silk one I have here is great for an on-the-go accessory, but recently I’ve been opting for a wool scarf to keep warm in the especially cold weather. Specifically in the case of any rain, I keep a scarf to use as a makeshift hood to keep my hair dry – otherwise, I might show up to class looking like I just took a dip at Castle Sands.

Next, another constant of my bag is my water bottle: a leopard print stainless steel thermal flask I got during freshers week my first year when I realized I had neglected to pack one of the many I keep at home. Evidently, water is very important to me – I carry the bottle with me almost everywhere I go or any time I leave my flat, it’s sort of like a third arm, an extension of me at this point. While it may not be the water bottle most aesthetically aligned to my style at the moment, I’ve grown quite fond of the bottle – obviously, I have yet to replace it. The size is perfect for carrying in my bag and the insulation ensures my water is always cold; at least for now, its resident space in my bag remains uncontested. 

Additionally, I almost always keep a pack of gum on hand. Currently, I have a mega pack of polar ice Extra which I brought back with me from the states – the superior gum, in my opinion.

Another constant resident of my bag is, of course, my computer. At university, my everyday bag is my uni bag, whether I have class or not. As such, the contents of my purse reflect its dual purpose. An essential for lectures, tutorials, and coursework, I almost always have my computer handy; whether I am really using it for shopping, the NY Times crossword, or schoolwork, however, is a perpetual question.

Along with my computer, another essential for my everyday-uni bag is my planner. While you will most often see me in lectures or the library working on my computer, I am a firm believer in the superiority of hand written notes. With so many birthdays, events, deadlines, assignments, tutorials, etc., it’s essential to have some way to remember and keep track of everything in one place.

Of course to go with is my pencil case –  a fuzzy pink pouch with a myriad of pens and pencils for writing things down in my planner or jotting down quick notes. 

Along with my planner, I also carry a couple of notebooks. The notebooks are more wishful thinking, of course, as it is so much more convenient to take notes on the computer – especially when lecture halls have those tiny foldaway desks and dim lighting. Still, I keep them on hand in the case I’m struck by the sudden urge to strain my eyes for 50 minutes and have pencil marks on my hand for the remainder of the day (albeit with the result of better notes and better retention).

Last but not least, possibly the most frivolous – but also potentially one of my most favourite – items currently in my bag is a hand fan that I got for 3 euro in Venice. Entirely impractical in the current climate, I keep it mostly for fun and not for actual use; however, it could be useful for drying a rain soaked face. Really, I mostly use it when doing my makeup; although its presence in my bag, along with my sunglasses (and notebooks, in a way), signify a certain optimism I think helps brighten the dark winter days leading up to finals.