My name is Stéphanie Mauro and here is What’s In My Bag!

I have chosen to present the contents of my true daily bag as a mother of 2 young children and 80 pound German Shorthaired Pointer.  The instructions state to display what I CHOOSE to carry around with me and initially I thought surely there are things that I MUST carry with me and have no choice, after all I am responsible for little people in my life. Upon considering this a little longer I have realized that it is my choice to carry all of these items in my bag that weighs more than it should. Here goes!

My bag carries: a protein bag (emergency mom/student fuel), mini sanitizer bottle, Keys with plastic key chains and plastic easy access cards, children’s sunglasses, a mini note pad, mini plastic figurines, kleenex, WetOnes, a roll of poop bags and a lock for swim lessons and of course my wallet.

My wallet is full of plastic cards and receipts. Receipts include both text and technology with detailed texted information about the day, time, location, items purchased and a trail of the financial transaction, many of which contain barcodes that can be scanned by digital technology to trace back not only my purchase but also the method of payment and my personal information. An abundance of printed text that most often do not get read unless necessary.

Bilingual language is present on the label of the Purell bottle, protein bar label, WetOnes label and mini note pad. All of which are printed in the USA, China and Canada. Cards contain information for us, further speeding up the consumer experience and minimizing human interactions. It’a tap and go world.

Cards that are printed using digital technology on several types of plastics and resins, all linked to digital identification systems that are more sophisticated that I could imagine. Mini identification cards, used for point systems at the Pet Store or to borrow printed books at the library, all linked like credit and debit cards but constructed in mini format attachable to the very things we can’t live without.

This preliminary examination of the contents of my bag reveals a clear interaction of literacies both digital and print. Interactions that are not often acknowledged or appreciated and often go unnoticed. A reminder of the corporate and enterprising economy I live in, where print and digital communication have woven such a web of intricate vehicles for communication that it makes it difficult to remember things otherwise.

The narrative I have presented here of the contents of my daily bag quite accurately describes the image I have of myself. I like to be well prepared for everything, often times unnecessarily and I know this, however it brings me comfort to know that I can attend to life’s mini emergencies with some of my bags contents. This bag 25 years ago would probably contain only 5% of the contents: keys and wallet. It is a true representation of what many of us rely upon it todays fast paced economy.

Years from now an archaeologist may examine the items in my bag and would have many questions. He or she may create hypotheses that suggest that we have this idea that we have control over our personal information, but perhaps there is risk and false securities that we take for granted. They would conduct a thorough analysis of how text technologies have enveloped our lives, but perhaps we have just exchanged some inconveniences for others.