Student story: Boring baggage or luxurious luggage

By Katie Mahoney

A pair of Reebok EasyTone shoes are thrown carelessly on the littered floor. Three different phone chargers dangle from the wall while four over-sized bags lay wide open by the TV.

For girls at the Flint Hills Publications Workshop there are the necessities: clean clothes, underwear, shoes, personal toiletries, toothbrush, toothpaste. Or in the case of Ali Swee, a Notre Dame de Sion student, there are two different kinds of toothpaste.

“It takes me like 10 minutes to brush my teeth because I brush them twice,” Swee said. “One cleans and the other whitens.”

Several teenage girls said they waited until the night before the workshop to pack. They quickly learned procrastination can lead to chaotic packing, especially as they tried to determine the most useful items to include.

Several of the FHPW campers claimed they couldn't survive without their favorite munchies for late-night cravings or a snack between meals. A variety of indulgences like Cheez-Its, sour gummy worms, M&M's and beef jerky lay scattered throughout their cluttered rooms.

For Kathryn Schultz, a Notre Dame de Sion student, indulgences don’t include candy or carbs. Schultz brought a swim cap, goggles and a one-piece competitor’s suit along with plans to wake up each morning at 5:50 to head down to the hotel pool to swim laps for an hour.

Liz Prosser, a Marian High School student, packed her drum sticks.

“I told myself I was gonna practice, but I’m not,” she said, laughing.

Campers like Khloe Hines, a Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School student, worried less about what to pack and more about how much they could squeeze into suitcases.

For the five-day camp, Hines conceded she brought six dresses, four pairs of shorts, 10 T-shirts and five pairs of shoes. She said she carried her collection of belongings in two suitcases that she proudly stated, “are not duffel bags but legitimate suitcases on wheels.”

While others might stress about the clothes they’re going to wear the next day, Taylor Escher, Notre Dame de Sion student, spends 15 minutes before bed reading the Bible. She’s working through a daily reading plan that will guide her through the Bible in one year.

"It makes me feel warm and fuzzy, really," Escher said.

Katie Mahoney is a junior at Notre Dame de Sion High School and a student in the advanced writing class at the Flint Hills Publications Workshop.