Students of the University of Foreign Languages doing the "No backpack day" trend

Unique bags

One day, Pham Thi Kieu Oanh, a student of Nguyen Hue High School, came to school with her books wrapped in a lovely pillowcase. Not only Kieu Oanh, her classmates also requisitioned various household items to store their school supplies. Fruit baskets, chessboards, shoe boxes ... have been brought to school like schoolbags.

“Today, my class is doing the “no backpack day” trend,” Kieu Oanh said with a smile.

“No backpack day” is a fairly popular trend on social networks, spreading on TikTok and Facebook because of the fun that comes from “reluctant backpacks”. Participants of the trend will not use bags or backpacks to store everyday items. Instead, they will use their creativity to come up with anything they’d like to store their everyday items. 

And thus, a series of “limited handbags” with unique designs were born, from cake boxes, instant noodle boxes, to watermelons, flower baskets, and even plastic bags. This resulted in many amusing and intriguing images posted on social media by young people. Many people couldn’t help but laugh when they saw students coming to school carrying household items. They were surprised by the unusual creativity and dubbed it the “taking everything on the way” trend. 

“When my class decided to join the “no backpack day” trend, we were excited to go to school to see what our classmates would bring to school that day. Thanks to that, laughter filled our classroom, reducing our stress and fatigue. It wasn’t just fun and games, this trend also helped our class become more united as we got everyone to agree to do it,” said Kieu Oanh.

Not only students, many parents were also drawn to the excitement of this trend. “I was surprised one day when I saw my daughter neatly place her books into a cake box. Following my child's Facebook page, I burst out laughing because of the cuteness and fun of the children when I saw pictures of books in rice cookers, plastic bowls, or even plastic cups that she took with her friends,” said Ms. Nguyen Minh Tu, Phuoc Vinh ward, about her high-school daughter.

Making classes much more fun

In addition to students, even teachers and lecturers were joining in the “no backpack day” as well. Many times, the students of the Faculty of English, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University have been surprised by the distinctive “bags” their own lecturers used for their books and belongings.

“With the motto “Today, we go to work with joy instead of bag”, I have many times participated in the “no backpack day” trend organized by the Student Union of English Faculty. I did find it strange using a basket to store my stuffs at first, but after a few times, it turned out to be surprisingly convenient and I eventually got used to it,” said Doan Ngoc Ai Thu, a lecturer of the University of Foreign Languages.

The students surely could not hold their giggles at the image of a blue basket filled with books placed next to the lecturer's desk. “At first, I thought only students like us would have “muddy personality” enough to do the trend, I did not expect our lecturers to join in as well. They were so funny and lovely, making the classroom atmosphere so much more exciting; at the same time, shortening the distance between teachers and students,” said Tran To Linh, a student at the University of Foreign Languages.

It can be said that the exciting “no backpack day” trend has created a healthy learning environment, connecting students together, as well as spreading the spirit of joy, positivity, and encouraging young people's creativity and self-expression, making their day at school truly happy.

Story and photo: DANG TRINH