Do laptop stickers provide an adequate avenue for students’ personal expression? Do their semi-permanent nature constrict personal growth over time? Through a survey of The Sophian’s laptop sticker holders, this article attempts to answer these questions and get to the root of today’s sticker personal branding phenomenon.
“It’s hard to have stickers grow with you,” said Sadie Buerker ‘22 as she reflected back on her first year laptop sticker collection–an ensemble that included Salvador Dali, Matisse, Mac Miller, the “Yeezus” album, streetwear brands and the rocket emoji. While some of these interests certainly proved to be long lasting for Buerker, others did not stand the test of time.
Frances Baker-Tucker ‘23 articulated a similar sentiment toward her oldest laptop stickers. “They trace a path of your interests over time,” she explained while looking down at her laptop decorated with stickers of various places, causes, interests, and moments in her life. Notably, her seventh grade admiration for “Doctor Who” fills the majority of her laptop’s bottom left. While she may not keep up with the series anymore, David Tennant and the TARDIS still hold a dear place in her heart.
Mikayla Patel ’22 has a sticker collection that challenges popular spatial imaginations and boundaries of laptop stickers. While laptop stickers may be a public facing art exhibition for some, Patel’s laptop has an underbelly meant purely for her own enjoyment as the collector. Patel breaks down the division between her public-facing top stickers and private bottom stickers. “Sometimes the front stickers can be a fun conversation starter with people who have similar music interests as me, but for some reason the bottom ones cause more of a stir because people are confused by my belief in aliens,” she explained.
Emily Meschertson ‘24 has a particular adoration for the squirrels of Smith College that she decided to honor with a laptop sticker of a little squirrel wearing an acorn hat. She said, “It’s my favorite one because it brings me the most joy. I feel emotionally attached to every squirrel on campus. They make me so happy and now I have one on my laptop!”
Meschertson’s squirrel sticker is part of a thoroughly calculated ensemble. “My laptop stickers tell you that I’m a planner,” she explained, “I bought them almost all together, spent a long time online choosing them and tested out how to place them. I balanced them out and intentionally left a space for a future sticker. They became a good picture of my interests, things I care about and my personality.”
Buerker, Baker-Tucker, Patel and Meschertson each held unique interests they hoped to share with the world at one point or another through their laptop sticker collections. The test of time was perhaps the biggest challenge they faced to continue embracing these stickers, and may contribute to many peoples’ reservations against decorating their laptops. Ultimately, owning a laptop is a major investment and modifications to it–even semi-permanent ones–can produce a lot of anxiety for college students who may have recently purchased their very first computer.
Like Meschertson, this author is also a planner as far as laptop stickers go. After creating my own RedBubble to sell my artwork, I realized it was about time that I bought some stickers from the community. While most of them reflect my favorite animes, others mirror my cultural identity, beliefs and music interests. That being said, my favorite is the Burna Boy sticker that I bought after seeing him perform. It connects me to other fans and reminds me of the time I was so near my favorite artist.
