Four-color pens, only for the uber-cool

When my youngest daughter, Andreya, was 10 years old, she was busy as an online student with Northstar Christian Academy. She was (and still is) an excellent student and a quick learner. I remember those days when I was in awe of her ability to study online. That required more discipline than most 10-year-olds had, and I was so proud of her efforts.

When I watched her work, I would think, “What was I doing at her age?” I think we had the four-color Bic© pens (red, blue, green, and black) that were a mark of being uber-cool back in my day. Also, I remember a folder called the Trapper Keeper©. Only the coolest of the cool kids, the uber-cool, had these folders in their lockers.

I was definitely not one of the uber-cool kids.

Hidden lunches

Coming from a Finnish immigrant family background, we thrived on frugal living and rarely wasted precious resources on four-color pens and fancy folders. At the time, being a first-generation Finn, I appreciated both sides of the coin. I knew Mom and Dad hated waste. So, I managed to hide my brown-bag lunches of Finnish Rye bread with cucumbers and ham (a delicacy for me today) from the cool kids. They had metal lunchboxes and thermoses filled with Spaghetti-Os©. How I envied those Spaghetti-Os© of the uber-cool.

I successfully hid my lunch most of the time and remained generally unscathed from the mocking of any of my peers. It wasn’t my lunch that got me into trouble with the uber-cool kids. It was my simple #2 pencil, blue pen, and plain paper folder that gave them a reason to make fun of me. Why couldn’t I fit in with carrying four-color pens and the newest, shiniest folders?

Courage to ask for the uber-cool

One evening, at dinner, I gathered the courage to ask for the coveted Bic© pen and Trapper Keeper© folder. Prepared for the worst, I steeled my nerves for the expected lecture on why we can’t buy such things. Instead of a lecture, I was met with gentle explanations.

Explanations of why, in the middle of the school year, we couldn’t afford to purchase new school supplies. Everything listed on the supply list had already been purchased; we couldn’t do anything this year, but maybe next year.

While I was disappointed, I left the table without a word. I knew that any pleading would be met with sternness as my parents were “old school.” Once they made up their mind, that was it, and I knew it.

Plain supplies made me the uber-coolest

On the bus as I made my way to school the next day, I carried my plain supplies. I envied all of the other kids. They had brightly colored backpacks, lunchboxes, and four-color pens. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks when my friend Barbara once again asked why my things were so “old-fashioned.” I changed the subject.

The weeks rocked on. By the second half of the year, due to the numerous problems these pens and folders were causing among the students, the school introduced a new set of guidelines. These guidelines required students to return to plain pens, pencils, and folders. Suddenly, I was the uber-cool one without even trying. The day this was announced in school, a collective, painful sigh was heard throughout the campus.

A lecture in simplicity

Later on that evening, after the fateful announcement at school, I explained what had happened to my parents. I clearly didn’t think things through. When they heard my news, they gave me a long lecture. They talked about the importance of keeping things simple.

This lecture felt like it took an eternity to my 10-year-old ears. My ears perked up when they praised me. They were proud that I had not resisted their decision months earlier not to purchase the uber-cool supplies.

Looking at my daughter now as she prepares to start her final year of high school, I value the simplicity our life here in Africa gives us. She sometimes bucks the system and wishes for a fancy gaming system or a cool jacket. She would also like to be one of the uber-cool ones. But she generally goes with the flow.

Thanks, Äiti and Isä (Mom and Dad), for keeping it simple. In today’s life of quarantines, closed airports, and political upheaval, appreciating a simple life has meant more to me than I can say.

I didn’t need the pens or folders anyway.