Back to School OOTD x @RomanticRealistStyle

It's that auspicious time of year for most people, where a mix of butterflies and outright nausea plague you as you decide which backpack to commit to, what planner you will have to stare at and/or ignore, and what homeroom teacher will haunt your dreams. Although, I left that behind and became an adult with jobs and bills (overrated) I still enjoy the tension in the air and that stagnant oppression that hits you like a wave when you realize summer fun times are over.

The other day I went the pharmacy were I used to pick up school supplies when I was in elementary school. There was something uneasy about walking through the stationary aisles and remembering how upset I used to get that I wasn't allowed to use colored pens, and I only had three lame choices for the notebooks I was going to write in the entire semester. Long gone were the days were I could spazz out over Lisa Frank folders and technicolor neon.

Then, a very fond memory kicked in like perfectly warmed hot chocolate on a cold day. I remembered going to Chinatown with my mom and finding a store on the second floor of a grocery market. It was a kawaii wonderland of imported Sanrio planners, pens, notebooks, plushies, you name it. There was another more stationary store I vividly remember in the Queens Mall, called Morning Glory. I would beg my mom for the opportunity to bask in the glory of character-branded school supplies that made my heart go pitter pat. It hit me in the feels remembering how important those moments were for me and how they shaped me into the person I am today.

After twenty-five years I made my way to Japan for the first time and the girlish joy I felt when I walked into Harajuku was a mega-mash-up of: my love for cute, the best memories of my childhood, and being there as a grown-up to spend money irresponsibly. Growing up in the 90's, there was no Amazon Prime, and the things I loved you treasured you obsessed over until I became an adult and then I had the world at your fingertips, literally (world wide web). The one store that sold Pokemon cards in the corner was my place of worship and Saturday morning cartoons were my religion. I wouldn't have missed Sailor moon if you paid me in holographic Mewtwo's. This is why I was obsessed with the things I loved as a child, I got an appetizer and now I was ready for the main course.

In lieu of this appreciation for back to school memories, I teamed up with my best friend Bee of RomanticRealistStyle, to share the time-honored tradition of meeting your best friend for the first day of school. We never got to share these memories together, so we made it happen. We put our funky fresh back to school outfits on and topped it off with our most confident stride.