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The scene: Students carried bags featuring a range of colorful characters, including SpongeBob snail Gary, Hello Kitty and Despicable Me ’s minions. Adrianna Tanaka ordered a pink Peppa Pig backpack from Amazon. “Her really spunky personality — it really resonates with me because I'm the same way,” Tanaka said. “I just grew up with her. ... It's comforting.”

The backstory: Students told LAist that upperclassmen or social media posts inspired their backpacks. Lakewood Principal Mona Merlo said she’s noticed the childhood backpack trend for the past few years (her son had a Minecraft bag his senior year at an LBUSD school.) “ It's a little bit of a culture within the kids,” Merlo said. “Whatever today's trend is, all the kids are jumping on it.” Students across t

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