We have all seen it before. You walk along your merry way and see countless people with their water bottles layered in copious numbers of stickers, making the actual color of the water bottle hardly visible. Behind the sound of the tip-tapping of fingers flying, typing notes and papers on keyboards, is the image of a completely sticker-covered laptop. With all the opportunities for self-expression stickers make available to us, even refrigerators can gain opinions and personalities.
The Beacon decided to talk to students about their stickers, setting out to discover the reasons why students love putting them on just about any surface and the meanings behind the ones they chose.
Abby Meyer (she/her/hers)
Question: Which stickers mean the most to you and what do those stickers mean to you?
Answer: I would say my favorite sticker that means the most to me is “Shalom, y'all” because being Jewish is a huge part of who I am, and it's something that I want people to know about me because it's a huge part of how I identify myself and how I choose to live my life, and especially on a Catholic campus. I think it's important to highlight your differences and find out what's important to you and not be afraid to hide that part of who you are. And so for me, it's just like a reminder to be authentic to who I am. Even if I'm in a place where maybe authenticity is not what I want to do.
Q: Why do you like stickers?
A: I like them as reminders to my day, and they're not even places or things that I've done, they're just things that bring me joy and remind me of who I am and what I love. And to me, having something that represents who I am and carrying it on the outside of me where people can see it, it's kind of fun. And it's also a reminder to also be authentic to who I am, and to wear who I am openly and not put on a face, and just be as authentic as I can be, I guess. And also be colorful and be unique and be proud of the things that I love and enjoy.
Q: Why did you decide to start stickering?
A: I actually got my water bottle and my stickers my second week of freshman year. I went online and just picked a bunch of stickers that I really liked and ordered them and shipped them. It was because I was low-key going through an identity crisis my second week of freshman year, and I thought ‘you know, I need something that kind of pulls together who I am’ not to be so dramatic about a water bottle, but like I want to have something small and casual that represents who I am and kind of find myself through what I want to show other people, and through what I love, and for me, it was a really fun thing. It was also like super therapeutic to spend time ordering something and like picking out things that I want to represent me. And it actually was super helpful because then I was like, ‘Okay, this is who I am and this is what I want to do and like, I'm going to wear that openly every single day, and not be ashamed of that, when I walk in, I'm a freshman you know scared and terrified but like this is who I am, and people can accept it or not accepted but that doesn't change me or what I love, or care about.
Q: Which sticker was your first sticker?
A: I would say my first sticker was the young Barack, because, first of all, look at him. He's beautiful. Second of all, I love him. I just wanted something that, you know, reminded me of my love for President Barack Obama. I mean, what more do you even want? Nothing. I also bought it at the same time as my Billy Joel sticker. Billy Joel is a huge guilty pleasure of mine. First of all, Jewish — love that — from New York, and his songs, they remind me of my family, because we would always listen to Billy Joel together and he's like our family's artist. And it kind of reminds me of my roots and who I am and always to make sure to come back to that. And I just miss my family — and it reminds me of my family. But yeah, my first two stickers were my Billy Joel sticker and my Barack Obama sticker but specifically young Barack Obama. He is beauty, he is grace.
Camille Tudury (she/her/hers)
Q: Why do you like stickers so much?
A: It just personalizes your items, you know? Things like water bottles would be so boring if you couldn't put stickers on them. I mean even computers, they all look the same, you know? It's just a way to personalize it and it's the type of stickers you put on your water bottle or whatever — kind of shows, your interests kind of, or your type of personality in some sort of way. Not strictly, but very vaguely.
Josie Hughes (she/her/hers)
Q: Which sticker is your favorite sticker?
A: (On the water bottle) The Caduceus Clay sticker — he’s a character from a show I watch — is my favorite. My friend gave me the sticker so I like it even more. (On the laptop) The sticker of Jim from “The Office” is my favorite — “The Office” is one of my favorite shows and the sticker captures how I feel most of the time.
Q: Why do you like stickers?
A: I like stickers because they add color to your laptop or water bottle and show things that you like and are interested in.
Q: What makes a good sticker?
A: For water bottle stickers, they need to be waterproof or vinyl so they don’t disintegrate.
Jackson Blum (he/him/his)
Q: What sticker means the most to you? What does this sticker mean to you?
A: The Legends 365. I have an entrepreneurship in business I run where I sell sports jerseys and this is the logo I created for it. It took a long time to design and get it perfect and just the way I wanted it. At first, I had zero graphic design experience and I had to teach myself the whole process. It took a year and a half of working really hard to figure it out so it’s nice to look at it as a sign of working hard and it paying off.
Q: Why do you like stickers?
A: A blank screen is kinda boring so I like to liven it up and add color. You can show everything you care about and love put into a simplified form because images say a lot.
Q: What sticker was your first sticker?
A: The Portland Pilots ‘P,’ which was a good way to start it off.
Michaela Blake (she/her/hers)
Q: Which stickers mean the most to you?
A: The sticker that means the most to me is the one depicting the "Catedral de Palma de Mallorca," however all the Mallorca stickers are my favorite.
Q: What do those stickers mean to you?
A: My purpose for being in Mallorca, Spain was to do research, but when I finally got to work in a church similar to the Catedral de Palma de Mallorca something clicked. I realized the work that I was doing in Spain had a lot more sentimental value than any other analytical work that I had done previously — that families have been dedicating themselves for decades in the hopes of uncovering their history. And every time I look at that sticker, I know that I helped those families uncover a piece of it. Throughout the trip, my friend and I gathered the same stickers and placed them in the same spots on our water bottles, so that the water bottles could serve as a memento of the trip.
Q: Why do you like stickers?
A: I like stickers because they can express different elements of a person's personality and be a cheap souvenir/reminder of a memory.
Q: Why did you decide to start stickering?
A: I decided to start stickering in Spain to initially cover up a scratch on my water bottle, but once I added one sticker, more and more was soon to follow.
Natalie Olsen (she/her/hers)
Q: Which stickers mean the most to you and what do those stickers mean to you?
A: The stickers that mean the most to me would be a tie between the one of the St. John's bridge and the one that says “Still the Louvre." The St. John's one represents my second home of Portland, especially the area of Cathedral Park, because I go there all the time as a peaceful reminder to put life into perspective — cheesy, I know. The “Still the Louvre” is part of a Lorde song called “The Louvre.” That song was my friends and I's anthem of freshman year, and there's this one lyric that goes: "They'll hang us in the Louvre, down the back, but who cares, still the Louvre." So, for Christmas last year my friend got me that sticker and I love how it is random at first glance but contains a cute meaning.
Q: Why do you like stickers?
A: I like stickers because they're little reminders of parts of you — whether it be a trip, hobby, relationships, experience, or just something that catches your eye. They can definitely point to parts of your identity in a subtle way.
Fran Franco (they/them/theirs)
Q: What stickers mean the most to you?
A: Honestly, none of them have specific meaning to them. The one I like the most is the ‘No Foolin’ alien. That one definitely has, like, significant meaning is the gay alien, but compared to each other, none of them are really significant.
Q: Why do you like stickers?
A: My dad’s super into Ancient Aliens so growing up and even whenever I go back home, we always watch it. So, I guess aliens have always been, I don't know, something that’s always been on my mind when I’m home. So, I don’t know, I kind of love aliens. They’re cool dudes.
Q: Why did you decide to start stickering?
A: I started when I got my first Hydroflask because I got a hydro when I became a lifeguard and then I used it for school too and it was just like, everyone had stickers. And so I was like, ‘You know what? I’m gonna add stickers too.’
Q: Which sticker was your first sticker?
A: My first one was a red feminist sticker. And then there was also another one that was like in that old comic style, where, like, there was a girl crying over f---boys and I was just like ‘well, same.’
Madison Thibado (she/her/hers)
Q: Why did you start stickering?
A: I used to not like them because it’s a commitment to put a sticker on your water bottle or laptop. But I think it’s a subtle way to show support for things that mean a lot to you.
Q: What makes a good sticker?
A: Objectively, a high-quality material. But I like stickers with a good design, ones that show artistic thought.
Kellen Schrader (she/her/hers)
Q: Which stickers mean the most to you?
A: The stickers that mean the most to me are the ones me and my roommate collected on our road trip from Portland to Denver. They are a fun reminder of all the places we went to together!
Q: Why did you decide to start stickering?
A: I decided to start stickering the fridge after demo-day last year! They gave out a bunch of free stickers, and I didn't want to put them on my water bottle or laptop, but I also didn't want them to go to waste. So, I started putting them on the fridge, and I found it was a fun way to take a boring old fridge and make it more interesting.
Q: Which sticker was your first sticker?
A: The first sticker was the big "expressoUP" sticker in the middle. I liked it because of the clever "drink responsibly" part, but I thought it was too big for my Hydroflask.
Sheryl Tomas (she/her/hers)
Q: Which of your stickers mean the most to you?
A: I don’t really know. A lot of these don’t really have a lot of meaning. I just chose them because I thought it was funny or cute.
Q: Why do you like stickers?
A: I’ve always seen a lot of people with a bunch of stickers on their laptops and it’s a lot of commitment to put it straight on so I get a cover and put it on. I get to mess around and show off my personality in a way. There are a lot of fun things on my computer that I like.
Meghan Potter (she/her/hers)
Q: What stickers mean the most to you?
A: The earth that has the words “Destroy the patriarchy, not the planet” across it probably since I’ve had it the longest, also because I love what it means and what it stands for. I also love the ones I have related to music because they represent how much music means to me, such as Ultralife, which is the name of my favorite album, and Brockhampton, which is one of my favorite artists.
Q: Why do you like stickers? Why did you decide to start stickering?
A: I honestly just saw stickers that I wanted and started accumulating them and then didn’t know where else to put them, and once I started stickering I couldn’t stop. I also like how it makes my laptop unique and my own. I always know that it’s mine because no one else has the same set.
