The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Humor Essay

What your Favorite School Supply Says About You

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Inside Press intern Mia Brown reveals her favorite school supply item!

As we begin the upcoming school year, back-to-school shopping quickly enters everyone’s lives. While school supply shopping can be a hassle, there’s always at least one item that we have a soft spot for. Whether it is a backpack or just a simple eraser, your favorite item has a lot to say about you, and here’s what I personally think they say. See if you agree.

Backpack

You buy a new backpack every year and conduct a deep search to find the perfect one. You start your back-to-school shopping in the middle of July because you want the best and nothing less. After mom and dad set a budget on it (groan…) you choose a little less expensive one but still snazzy. When you walk down the hallways in September, you eat up the compliments. You want school to start now. What it says: You are Fashion Forward but also growing savvy about a good deal!

Calculator

You love math and science and are probably taking rigorous courses in that area. Math has always been easy for you. You would rather spend time solving math equations than ever having to read a book or write an essay. At this point in your math career, you have games downloaded onto your calculator for when class is boring because it just isn’t hard enough for you. What it says: You also have big dreams and can’t wait to continue your learning this school year!

Laptop

You hate pens and pencils and wish you never have to write on paper ever again. You take pride in being a Google Chrome or Safari user and will only stick with one search engine. You try to carry as few things as possible with you and keep everything you need on your computer. What it says: You are extremely tech savvy and will be taking an engineering class in the fall.

Notebook

You are organized and take pride in it. You are always willing to show off your beautifully categorized notes to help your friends out when they are struggling. Being in the top of your class is a priority, but you somehow manage to do it with ease. You are the classmate that can always manage to give your peers a piece of paper if they don’t have any… and they all are extremely thankful for that. What it says: You are pumped up for the school year and can’t wait to see your friends in the fall!

Pencils

You have a strict preference between mechanical or just a simple number 1 pencil. You either are an incredibly talented artist who can transform any sheet of paper into a masterpiece or just hate that pens aren’t erasable. The only thing that you don’t like about pencils is when the eraser runs out. What it says: You are excited to meet your new teachers and can’t wait to be back at school again.

Pens

You have a h3 dislike for writing with pencils and hate making mistakes. English or history is your favorite class because you enjoy being able to write on paper instead of typing on your computer. Your goals for the school year include getting straight As and perfecting small doodles on the side of your paper without ruining the rest of your school work. What it says: You’re a hard worker who wants to excel this school year and won’t let anything get in your way.

Post-It Notes

You like to pass notes during class and think it is better than secretly texting on your computer. When shopping for Post-Its, you like to get a variety of colors. You are a bubbly and vibrant person. What it says: Seeing your friends is Priority #1 when you go back to school.

White Out

You often make mistakes, but you also know that mistakes are the foundation of learning. You are probably taking difficult classes this year and are preparing for the worst, but you are also ready for the challenge. In class, your friends thank you for helping them cover up their mistakes quickly. When you get bored in class you paint your nails with White Out or draw with it on the side of your paper. What it says: You know school is always a wild ride and you can’t wait for it to begin!

Sisterly Love for ‘Rent a Teenager’

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Let’s hope, given all that we have been through, we have a mild winter. But if we happen to have a storm this coming season, save your strength and let a teenager shovel your walk. I know just where you can find one…

Growing up, my twin brother, Mason, and I did many of the same activities. Whether running a race in the backyard, attempting the steepest ski trails, or memorizing multiplication tables, we were in a constant competition over who was faster, braver or smarter. In those rare instances when Mason would do better than me, I was definitely envious and admittedly, a bit of a sore loser. However, when he launched his entrepreneurial endeavor, Rent a Teenager, I easily felt pride over envy.

Here’s how Rent a Teenager came to be: When our older brother, Daniel, was in middle school, he would practice tennis by hitting with a local varsity tennis player. My mom paid the player $25 per hour back then. As Mason became more of a seasoned tennis player, he realized that he too could provide a similar service to younger kids at a fraction of the rate offered by professionals. As Mason started booking up, he realized that there was likely interest for lessons in other sports. He recruited some classmates and expanded his services to include soccer, lacrosse, basketball, you name it!

This led to RentATeenager.com, a website Mason founded as a resource that provides responsible and talented teenagers to perform various jobs. His range of services now extends way beyond just sports training. You can now hire a teenager as a tutor, babysitter, dog walker, errand runner, house worker, weed puller, couch mover, photographer, and more. As Mason likes to say, teens excel at just about everything. I guess with the exception of me since he never hires me for anything!

His website soon reached social media pages, like Instagram and Facebook, where he expanded both his slew of customers and his audience. From this, the business quickly gained momentum. Mason also started licensing his Rent a Teenager materials so teens in other towns can be their own boss and provide the same meaningful services in their community. And for a philanthropic effort, he donates 10% of his earnings to the Horace Greeley Scholarship Fund.

Rent a Teenager is at the cornerstone of discussion in my house. Ugh. And I apathetically anticipate the inevitable talk about his business at the upcoming holiday gatherings (I will shut my Zoom off if we just talk Rent A Teenager!) My extended family is so proud of his entrepreneurial skills. Hello? What about me? Of course, my mom and dad always use the opportunity to say that they already use some teenagers to help around the house–as they look skeptically at me and Mason.

Back in October, Mason creatively approached the problem of a lack of poll workers by advertising for teenage poll workers on Facebook. He boosted his posts so that they would reach parents and teens throughout the U.S. In some states you just need to be 17 to be a poll worker and now because of Rent a Teenager, teens not old enough to vote were able to meaningfully participate in politics. Mason got a lot of press coverage for this initiative.

And to prepare for the cold and snowy winter ahead, Mason plans to offer snow removal services. I bet my Dad, who is hounded by my mom to snow blow the driveway starting at 5 a.m. the day after a storm, will appreciate that. I keep trying to push Mason to start a hot chocolate business; that would be an endeavor I would support.              

As much as I’d like to rent a new brother at times, and as much as this pains me to admit, Mason has created quite a successful business for himself and I know he will do quite well studying business in college. But not as well as me, of course!