When it comes to school, students are beasts of burden. Most can be seen hefting backpacks from class to class.

All students want the best kind of backpack that will help carry them towards success and better organization. That’s why they tend to drift more towards the bigger and more expensive ones to fit their needs.

Brands like Jansport, Under Armour, and Fjall Raven Kanken backpacks are some of the few that are more popular among students because of the flexibility and duration.

Most students also like to keep their backpacks clean to stay better organized. Caro Romero, senior, said “I like to keep [my backpack] clean, so that it’s easy to find important things.”

Other students like Andrew Lanier and Lily Engeman, juniors, clean theirs out after every semester to go in with a clean and fresh start.

The majority of what occupies the most space in many students’ backpacks is English work and handouts. Gillian Murphy, junior, said “Anatomy for sure” takes up the most space in her backpack.

Students also like to keep their backpacks for as long as possible, especially if they were expensive. Students like Brian Desanto and Casey Shell, seniors, have kept theirs for two to three years. Others like Miranda Brown, senior, have had theirs for half a year.

The average cost students will pay for a backpack is between $30 to $50. Some students go as far as to pay $100 for a good quality backpack that will hopefully last them quite a while.

Lots of students tend to reuse their backpacks over the years until they notice problems such as holes or tears.

Mara Gee, junior, has “had to sew up a couple tears from [her] zipper getting stuck in the fabric.”

Coleu Hitshew, junior, and Emily Harrison, junior, have had a couple holes and tears in their packs a few times.

Backpacks are a students’ best friend. Toting around endless papers, textbooks, pencils, calculators and more, resulting in their backpacks getting quite heavy and possibly damaging to the body.

According to Rebecca Ball, school nurse, heavy backpacks as a person grows can cause “extra back pain, compression damage to spinal discs, and possibly even develop scoliosis,” [which is a curvature of the back.]

Ball also said damage is more likely to be caused if backpacks are “especially [worn] on one shoulder.”

In order to prevent this from happening, students should wear their backpacks on both shoulders with the weight evenly distributed, with two straps, and possibly get a padded backpack although a roll backpack is the best way to prevent back problems since they eliminate any risk at all.

Emily Salinas, senior, was diagnosed with spondylolisthesis at age 11. Spondylolisthesis is a mild degenerative disc disease of the back. In order to help this disease, Salinas had a nine-hour surgery at age 13 from which she never fully recovered.

Due to never fully recovering, Salinas has to use a roll backpack to put less pressure on her back, which she recommends everyone do. Back injuries can be very serious. Salinas recommended, “if your back is hurting, please tell someone. You many not think that it’s important, but it really is.” She also said to appreciate good health while one has it.