I Live Out of My Bag

There is only one day a week where I don't go from early morning to late evening without going back to my apartment. As a result, I have very much been carrying my life around New York in my Longchamp.

It's actually alarming how much I carry around, and how much I rely on everything in there. My food, my water, my work, it's all in there. However, I have had an issue with having too much in there lately. I've weeded out what I need and what I don't and have worked out exactly what I need to have with me on a daily basis to make it through my marathon days.

Notebooks/folders: Obviously. If I'm going to class, the most important thing is for me to have all my work, any printouts and books I might need.

Planner: I'm super OCD and I always need to have everything written down so I know what I have going on and so I don't forget anything I need to do. I used to get Vera Bradley ones, but I've actually found that the Lilly Pulitzer ones have more room.

Moleskine: I love lists. I always have different things to write down to remember for later, and my moleskine is full of them.

iPad: I spent the first month or so of school lugging my laptop around and it hurt my back so bad. I would literally come home and cry. Maybe I'm just weak, but my iPad mini does basically everything I need it to, without weighing me down.

Food: Crucial. For one, I get really mean and irritable when I don't eat. And two, if I don't bring a sandwich and a Luna bar and some fruit, I end up buying something unreasonably expensive.

Wallet: I once forgot my wallet and felt absolutely lost. Not only are my IDs and cards and cash in there, but my Ram Van passes and my metro card are in there too.

Other: I have a pouch of miscellaneous things, and it's arguably the most important. My epi pen, benedryl, Advil, bobby pins, headphones, a charger, Chapstick, a brush...the list goes on. Everything I might need during the day is crammed in there. The most recent addition is a little sewing kit. You never know when you're going to have to hem a dress on the subway. It happened.

I do wish I had one of those Pinch Provisions Mini-mergency kits, just to keep me even more prepared.

I also carry my glasses and my sunnies, and my keys, as well as some unidentified wrappers and receipts that live on the bottom of my bag. During the week, that bag is my life and I need to to get me from place to place.