Arlen's post regarding mobility demonstrates the variety of connotations that can be associated with a single word. In his post, he describes his first thoughts regarding "mobility;" he saw the word as being more related to geographical movement as opposed to financial mobility or physical impediments towards being fully mobile. He adeptly supported his point by describing his backpack in great detail, and offering examples of why it allows him increased mobility in his life.
I really appreciated Arlen's post because I felt that we didn't talk about the most simplistic geographical movement in our class discussion; rather, we focused on diligently analyzing the word to mean something deeper than just movement. I think that this can sometimes be a downside to analysis, as we often try to look beyond the superficial implications in discussing a word. But by using the example of his backpack, Arlen demonstrates the importance of mobility on a more basic level, thus giving new light to its importance.
Arlen's backpack also showed how he is able to be mobile yet have access to various things he may or may not need throughout the day. His particular backpack has four pockets which get progressively smaller towards the front of the pack. He carries everything from his gym clothes to his cell phone charger to deodorant to an umbrella. I think that we sometimes take backpacks and bags for granted, as they really do allow us greater freedom in our mobility, especially when it comes to situations for which we might otherwise have been unprepared.
One of the main reasons I liked this post, however, is because I, like Arlen, carry my life around in my bag. I have a huge green purse that my fiancé has taken to calling "Rachel's bag-and-a-half" because it is, well, huge. And to be quite honest, that's why I like it. It can hold (and has been holding) my laptop, a notebook, my Dreamweaver manual, scissors, tape, glue, my cell phone, my pen/pencil case, my internship journal, photos for my internship journal, a box of giant mints from Holland, thank-you cards, chapstick, my camera, my camera charger, deodorant, chocolate, band-aids, two packs of gum, and sunscreen. Not to mention anything else I happen to need on a particular day.
I've been teased for having such a huge bag; I think the fact that I am not a very big person serves to emphasize the bag's magnitude. But, whenever someone needs band-aids or gum, they're quick to appreciate me and my bag.
Arlen's final words beautifully sum up his post: "I am free to go mobile any time I want to." I feel as though these words would be a great catch phrase for Jansport or another backpack company... "Free To Go Mobile." Because in the end, that's what you are.
You are free.
3 comments:
I enjoyed reading your response to Arlen's post about importance of mobility on backpacks. I commute from home to Davis 3 days a week for summer session and I always make sure not to forget anything at home that I might need it at school which ends up putting so many things in my backpack. Sometimes, I wish I had a bigger backpack because some days I have to carry another mini-bag if I cannot fit everything in my black backpack. I especially like this sentence, "carry my life around in my bag" and your last words from Arlen's post.
I, too, find this subject intriguing and overlooked: how we carry 'ourselves' around in the most basic sense of the things that 'comprise' our lives. These posts make me sad because I sold my favorite backpack to a friend and I probably won't ever get it back, and this little company that made the bag (in Bozeman, MT), sold out to K2 and now they are made in another country and without the same simplicity of design. Now I have a new North Face backpack my mate got me for my birthday, and while I like it, it has found its best use in a very immobile position: one of my cats (Henry, a long Siamese) likes to scratch the back of it like crazy (as opposed to other more seemingly scratchable surfaces), and so I leave the bag almost permanently upside down on our floor so that he can "scratch it up" (as I call it) whenever he wants. In the meantime, I am schlepping around this courier pack that rather hurts my neck when I'm not on my bike. Sorry for the personal tangents, here—but I think the point is that these are things worth describing and talking about even though they may not seem 'profound'. In fact, the "superficial" (as you call it) *does* have its utterly profound dimension—it just takes some time and attention to detail.
Great post.
You and this Arlen guy are the craziest people ever. It’s simply ridiculous to carry around so much stuff.
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