I have had to sew each of the straps of my backpack multiple times. My locker, on the other hand, has been opened only once. I keep my binders, pencil case and lunch box in my backpack. I have never put a single book, jacket or bag in my locker. I have decorated my backpack with various pins and keychains. My locker remains completely empty, both inside and out.

Last year, my locker was located in the world language building, which was as far away from me and my thoughts as possible, so I didn’t really have an opportunity to use it. This year, my locker is on the second floor of the math building. Although it is up a flight of grueling stairs, it happens to be in between my first and second hour classes. This would be convenient, but right after first hour is too early in the day for me to need to use my locker.

Some people keep their lunch box in their locker. If I did that, I would have to go all the way to get it before finding my friends and actually eating, and lunch is already short enough as it is. It’s much easier to carry my lunch with me, especially since it’s not terribly heavy and it fits fine in my backpack.

Other people use their locker for their binders or textbooks. Doing this would mean I would have to rush to my locker between classes to get what I need and sprint to class to avoid being late. I realistically have no good time to get things out of my locker and I don’t particularly care to find any.

Not to mention, if you leave books or binders in your locker and forget that you need them for class, you’re out of luck. Unless of course, your teacher happens to be feeling nice enough to let you jog halfway across the school to get your homework, which isn’t likely. It is much more practical to have everything in your backpack so you always have what you need.

There is always the argument that heavy backpacks will make you slouch, but the chairs we sit in on a daily basis are really the root of that problem. According to a study done at the University of Manitoba, while backpacks can worsen upper or lower back pain, sitting at a desk all day can cause “the spinal cord to be pressed to one side, lack of blood circulation, tense shoulder, neck and back muscles and constriction of the digestive organs.” So there is no point in emptying your bag and squeezing stacks of schoolbooks in between the small shelves of your locker because you’re still going to eventually squash your spine and strain your shoulders by sitting hunched over.

Lockers are more of a waste of space than they are a suitable place to store your belongings. I have no need for my locker, so I am going to continue filling my backpack to the brim and not wasting my time with a pointless cubby with a door, thank you very much.