Hello! This was a fun task, as this weekend was a milestone birthday for me, so it is an interesting time for me to do some self-reflection. I am not sure that my contents reveal my age, but feel free to guess in the comments below! My choice of items are somewhat curated, as they are what would be in my bag if I were to leave the house for more than a quick errand or walk right now.
To start with, the obvious things that I think the contents of my bag reveal:
- I live in the northern hemisphere, and it’s winter right now (toque, Yeti mug).
- I am a mom (pony stickers, little case for my first aid kit, granola bar, huge wallet – but no diapers, so the kids are not babies anymore).
- I really like coffee and/or tea (giant Yeti mug).
- I am trying to reduce my use of single use plastic items (reusable bag, Yeti mug, Starbucks reuseable cup).
- I wear glasses, but mostly just for reading which is why they are in their case and not on my face.
- I like technology and use it a lot (iPad, iphone, Apple pen, wireless ear buds), but I have not converted to technology 100% for reading and writing (book, bullet journal).
- I am a little bit artistic (bullet journal, flair pens).
- I do not wear much makeup unless it is a special occasion, but lip balm is a must in our dry climate.
- I like certain homeopathic remedies (Sage essential oil roller ball), but ultimately I follow science and medical experts (face mask, alcohol based hand sanitizer, Advil).
- I really like Homesense/Marshall’s/Winner’s – but I have not been in a long time due to the pandemic which is why I still have an unused gift card in my bag!
- I do love sushi (sushi on my mask).
- I care about Indigenous people and I am trying to expand my knowledge of Indigenous world views, listen and learn (Braiding Sweetgrass).
The less obvious things about me that this bag does not reveal:
- I live in northern Alberta.
- I have a daughter who is 6, and a son that is 13.
- I will have been married to my husband for 15 years, as of this March.
- I collect children’s books.
- I love to travel, but my last trip was 1.5 years ago to Alaska because of the pandemic.
- I like to camp, hike, and bike.
- I am pretty close with my parents and sisters; I have a niece and a nephew.
- I am an Elementary school teacher who has primarily specialized in literacy instruction and learning support, but I am not teaching this year due to the pandemic.
- I am a student in the MET program.
- I am beginning to become more politically active, as I care a lot about politics especially on the provincial level. My first degree was a BA degree with a major in Political Science from UBC.
When I was reflecting on how my bag has changed over the years, one of the things that jumped out at me was the difference in the technology from when I completed my first B.A. (1999-2003), my B.Ed. (2010-2011), and now I am a student in the MET program (2021). I can definitely see how my technological competencies have improved and the way the way that the use of technology and text have evolved for me from the start of adulthood until now. I have outlined a little bit of this evolution.
2000 – 2003
When I completed my B.A., the only technology that I carried with me around campus would perhaps have been my disc-man for listening to music on CDs. I brought a binder, notebook, or a clipboard to class and wrote my notes out by hand. I had a desktop computer in my dorm room, and UBC was my first experience with high speed internet. I had to purchase a pile of textbooks at the bookstore, went to the library frequently to sign out books, and I did not read any books digitally just the occasional journal article. I remember writing all of my essays out by hand first before typing them onto the computer. When I needed to communicate with friends and family, I would use a landline telephone, e-mail, or MSN messenger. All of my classes were in person with the exception of one English course that I took by distance online, but there were no interactions with my classmates, and only emails with my instructor. I do not have a lot of photos from this time, as I did not have a cellphone or a digital camera. I had cable and movies were watched on DVDs. I did not have any social media.
2010-2011
By 2010, I had an iPhone, a laptop computer (not Apple), and I’m pretty sure that I also had a Kindle e-reader. My competencies with technology had improved from quite a few years in an office job, and so I was able to complete assignments and essays directly on the computer without writing them out by hand first. However, my notes were still written out by hand. I still purchased some physical copies of textbooks, but I was also using an e-reader mainly for fiction. My practicums and about 1/2 of my education courses were in person, but the other 1/2 were by distance on-line. I also distinctly remember this was around the first time that I video chatted, as I went to Mexico for a month for one of my education courses and so I would use Skype to talk to my husband and son. When I was in Mexico, I took all of my photos with a digital camera. TV was satellite, and most of the movies we watched were pay per view. The only social media I had was Facebook.
2021
Now, I have an iPhone, iPad, and an Apple desktop computer (plus my son has a Chrome book, and my husband has a laptop). Most of my reading for school is done on my iPad, and I highlight and make notes with my Apple pen, or typed on the computer in Evernote where they are saved in the cloud. All of my classes for the MET program are online, and I interact with my instructor and classmates using online discussions, chats, or email. I have not had to buy a textbook yet, as I have been able to access all of the articles and books I need online through the library. Both of my children are learning by distance right now, too. Our household frequently uses Teams, Zoom, or Facetime for their video chat capabilities. For my mom’s birthday, we recently had a murder mystery party over Zoom. I have an Echelon spin bike and I can stream live or on demand workouts from my basement. We do not have a landline telephone. My digital camera is collecting dust, as I always use my phone for photos. We do not have satellite or cable TV. We stream all of our entertainment through Spotify, YouTube, Netflix, Prime, NHL Centre Ice, and Disney+. We download games for our Playstation and Nintendo Switch. Despite my very large and extensive personal library of children’s books, I am teaching my 6 year old daughter to read with a digital subscription for online levelled books. I frequently use the following social media applications: Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok; and I also play a lot of Words with Friends (except I mostly play with strangers from all over the world).
Final Thoughts
Wow! Writing it all down, it becomes clear that in 20 years that while text has played an important part in my education and life, digital technologies have gone from being a footnote in my life to a starring role. My everyday life and education centre around the use of text and digital technologies, as I’m sure there are even things I have missed. Like I just realized, I do not make grocery lists anymore as I order my groceries online through an app from home. From my bag though, you can still see little snippets of the non-digital text that I hold onto and have not let go of yet. My bullet journal is an example of how despite how hard I have tried when it comes to planning my life and making lists, I really do prefer do that with pen and paper, and periodically I like to use my flair pens to practice some hand lettering. Also, if given the choice, I do prefer to read non-fiction as a hardcover or softcover book rather than on the iPad or e-reader. I realize I should have included a children’s book in my photo, as I do love children’s books and still buy physical copies for my own children and would share them with my students when I was teaching. However, with how much text and technology have evolved over the past 20 years and how rapidly it is changing, it does leave me to wonder what text and technology will look like down the road for today’s children when they become adults? At any rate, I do not think that it will be many years before this photo will look rather ancient to an archaeologist, and that they will undoubtedly be able to pinpoint that it was the belongings of a Xennial female mother from Canada during the great pandemic of 2020-21.