M&L: What’s your bag?

MK: I’m an online student, so I attend all of my classes virtually in the breakroom of my office job. Since I work full-time, I like to bring my bookbag and purse with me to make sure I don’t forget anything at home.

M&L: What books are you carrying for school, and are you carrying a book that isn’t for school?

MK: Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre for an upcoming paper, and Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall for the same class. I’m not carrying one that isn’t for school, but I wish I had more time to read outside of school.

M&L: Do you have a favorite pen, pencil, or notebook that you always carry with you?

MK: I lose pens constantly, so I’m lucky if I can find one in my bag somewhere. I keep a little journal for poetry and my larger journal for everything else (I’ve actually been using the same diary/journal since 2015… I’m too sentimental to get a new one.)

M&L: Besides the essentials (phone, wallet, keys), what do you never leave the house without?

MK: Chapstick, clearly! But I like being overprepared for any situation, so I like having first-aid stuff, cosmetics, Tide pen, etc.

M&L: What do you keep in your bag that you’ll never use? 

MK: I used to work at a vet clinic and got in the habit of carrying small tools around. I keep a hemostat in my bag and have never needed it, but I’m convinced I will one day.