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Student-to-student: Laptop stickers provide a peek into the soul

UW students show off their laptop stickers. Top row: Marin Rosen (sophomore), Grace Paolillo (sophomore), Ella DeMartelaere (sophomore). Middle row: Brynn Mancusi (sophomore), Taylor Smith (senior), Kameron Jester (junior); bottom row: Paige Hurley (junior), Serena Wang (sophomore), Midori Leibovitz (sophomore). Photo by Sophia Ross

Some students choose to express themselves through their clothes; others through their music, makeup, haircuts or hobbies.

But an easy way to get a grasp on Badgers’ personalities — their likes and quirks and obsessions — is to look at their laptop cases.

A trend among college students is covering their laptops or its case with stickers.  The clear plastic cases become canvases of creativity and passion, one that is tailored particularly to its owner.

With each specific sticker comes a story — perhaps a meaningful remainder of a favorite vacation or an indication of a favorite movie. 

For UW–Madison senior, Taylor Smith, her two favorite stickers were in two categories: a funny memento and a meaningful one.

Smith laughs while telling a story of a beaver named Beave who was taken in by a woman and later became TikTok famous.

“Eventually he did have to go back into the wild so that was very sad, but she made merch of him so that’s probably my favorite goofy one,” said Smith.

Another sticker caught Smith’s eye though, as she reflected on a work accomplishment she was proud of.

“I have one for the NCAA golf championships, which was a work trip I got to go on,” said Smith. “It was the first time I got to travel with the men’s golf team and it was really cool for me to have a lot of responsibility when it came to social media and reporting on the team.”

Each sticker placed on a laptop, whether it be for laughs or for recollection, means something to its owner.

For Serena Wang, her favorite sticker is a reminder of family and one of her passions: Formula 1 racing. 

On first glance, someone may never guess that Wang’s “#stayhydrated” sticker is related to professional race car driving.

“There’s a team in Formula 1 called Red Bull, and during the pandemic year, a driver for Red Bull was talking to this engineer and being like, ‘Did you hydrate today, did you hydrate today’ and it evolved into random other things,” said Wang. 

Wang describes a class project she did for a journalism class which revolved around Wisconsin’s Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) team. 

 “My brother was on the SAE team when he was in college, which is what got me into Formula 1,” said Wang. 

UW-Madison sophomore Marin Rosen says a laptop without stickers is bland. “It’s just another part of my life that I can personalize and make colorful,” said Rosen.

On the lower left corner of her laptop, Rosen’s case features a pink and red cake with her sorority’s name written on it. But to Rosen, the sticker is more than just a reminder of her organization, but instead one that prompts her to think of a story with a friend.

“One of the girls who gave it to me was also a chapter president of her sorority at a different school and we made a really great connection,” said Rosen. “I’m still in touch with her and we go to each other for advice.”

Some students choose to only put one or two stickers across their cases, careful not to clutter the tool college students use more than practically anything. Others cover their cases entirely with them. But all of them are tokens of individualism, worn proudly.

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How the Little Things Make your College Essay Stand Out

Hey, it's Elena! Are you looking for that unique twist to make your college essay stand out? 🌟

It might actually be in your niche laptop stickers or celeb fandom! In this episode, we'll talk with Tom from the College Essay Guy Team about how the little things in your life can be essay inspiration, and small tweaks to make your essay really stand out. Links to resources below!

Our guest, Tom Campbell, is a Community Manager with the College Essay Guy Team . With years of admissions experience at Pomona College and College of the Holy Cross, Tom brings such valuable experience and shares those insider insights that could make a huge difference in your college essay! Here are the College Essay Guy Resources we Talk About: Brainstorming Exercises

• The Values Exercise in the episode (at 12:06 )
• Essence Objects Exercises  in the episode (at 13:51 )
• Includes the Laptop Sticker and iTaylor examples from the episode (at 15:17 and 20:58 ) 

How to Structure Your Essay

• Overview of Narrative and Montage paths from the episode (at 23:20)
• How to Format a College Essay: Step-by-Step Guide

Tips for Enhancing Your Essay

• Great tips on how to bring small "nuggets of gold" and specific details to your personal statement during the final revision stages
• More details about the "Pixar" structure/Narrative structure from Ethan, in the episode (at 24:03 )
• How-To Guide for the Short Answer Questions for Highly-Selective Colleges

Social Resources

• Join the College Essay Guy Students-Only Discord
• Join the College Essay Guy Parent Community

Listen to our newest episode , available wherever you listen to podcasts! Follow us on Instagram ( @scoirinc ) for more in this mini series! See you next time for more college application advice! ☺️

The links included on this page are sponsored, and Scoir will receive a small commission if you choose to purchase.

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The official news site of the College of Charleston.

How students communicate with laptop stickers.

by Kelsey Baum

While walking under the Spanish moss throughout the College of Charleston campus – and maybe even doing the “Charleston-shuffle” on a brick or two – something new and colorful stands out on the periphery. You’ll see students sporting them outside Addlestone Library on Rivers Green, on the couches and in the study nooks of the Stern Center, and propped on the desks in most classrooms: Laptop stickers are the latest craze, and they’re not just for dressing up those sleek grey Macs. Laptop stickers enable students to express their individuality, and they can also help connect classmates with similar interests.    

Formerly bare and identical-looking, student laptops are now covered from top to bottom with stickers or “skins” that resonate with students. Stickers seen around campus call out everything from niche TV shows and movie references to local stores and coffee shop logos and even life mottos. You might even see all of these categories on one laptop. Some sport just a few carefully selected stickers, while others choose to plaster their laptops without leaving a sliver of blank space.

So what’s with all the stickers? And  what is their significance from a sociological perspective?  The College Today sought out some faculty and students to help answer these questions.

Idee Winfield , a professor of sociology at the College, suggests that our society’s shift to digital media has changed the way we present ourselves to others. Developing an online presence on social media is one way of forming a public identity, but there is also something to be said about the way we decorate the outside of our laptops.

“ Laptop stickers are not just an expression of our personal identity, but a way in which we selectively communicate to others,” says Winfield. “The stickers allow us to make an impression on others without actually saying anything, which is similar to how the clothes we wear shape our sense of identity.”

Winfield categorizes the sticker phenomenon within Impression Management Theory – a sociological theory that explains how we attempt to control the way others perceive us to align with our personal goals. The specific stickers that we place on our laptops portray the identity we want others to associate us with.

“People are less likely to strike up conversation with others on the street because so much of life is mediated through the internet,” Winfield says. “Students use laptop stickers because they want them to say something to others.”

Noah Albertsen , a senior majoring in computing in the arts and minoring in Italian studies , says most of his laptop stickers were initially purchased without the intent of placing them on his laptop.

“From the stickers that I had, I chose them based on my opinion of the brand or message expressed by the sticker,” Albertsen says, citing his “Proud to be a Democrat,” “Grand Canyon” and “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams” stickers as examples of topics that resonate with him.

In addition to personality representation, students have also found that laptop stickers give them a chance to interact with other students in a rather unconventional way. Ashley Collins , a senior English major , has found that being able to constantly switch up her laptop stickers helps reflect her changing interests and find commonalities with other students.

“The stickers are a great way to remind yourself that we’re all sharing interests and values, reminding me we’re all more similar than we are different,” Collins says. “They’re also great conversation-starters for college kids particularly, and you never know what sticker might introduce you to a new friend!”

While the longevity of laptop stickers remains to be seen, we can be certain that they’ve already changed the way CofC students express themselves and connect with their classmates. So the next time you decide to put a sticker on your laptop, consider what message you are trying to project about yourself. Most importantly, be proud of what interests you, even if it’s unpopular or unique, because you never know who else might think the same way as you.

Kelsey Baum is a senior from New Jersey studying Communication and Italian Studies at the College of Charleston. She is also a member of the Martin Scholars Program and a freelance writer for Her Campus.

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Personal Essay Sample: Stickers on My Laptop

My laptop is like a passport. It is plastered with stickers all over the outside, inside, and bottom. Each sticker is a stamp, representing a place I've been, a passion I've pursued, or community I've belonged to. These stickers make for an untraditional first impression at a meeting or presentation, but it's one I'm proud of. Let me take you on a quick tour:

"We < 3 Design," bottom left corner. Art has been a constant for me for as long as I can remember. Today my primary engagement with art is through design. I've spent entire weekends designing websites and social media graphics for my companies. Design means more to me than just branding and marketing; it gives me the opportunity to experiment with texture, perspective, and contrast, helping me refine my professional style.

"Common Threads," bottom right corner. A rectangular black and red sticker displaying the theme of the 2017 TEDxYouth@Austin event. For years I've been interested in the street artists and musicians in downtown Austin who are so unapologetically themselves. As a result, I've become more open-minded and appreciative of unconventional lifestyles. TED gives me the opportunity to help other youth understand new perspectives, by exposing them to the diversity of Austin where culture is created, not just consumed.

Poop emoji, middle right. My 13-year-old brother often sends his messages with the poop emoji 'echo effect,' so whenever I open a new message from him, hundreds of poops elegantly cascade across my screen. He brings out my goofy side, but also helps me think rationally when I am overwhelmed. We don't have the typical "I hate you, don't talk to me" siblinghood (although occasionally it would be nice to get away from him); we're each other's best friends. Or at least he's mine.

"Lol ur not Harry Styles," upper left corner. Bought in seventh grade and transferred from my old laptop, this sticker is torn but persevering with layers of tape. Despite conveying my fangirl-y infatuation with Harry Styles' boyband, One Direction, for me Styles embodies an artist-activist who uses his privilege for the betterment of society. As a $42K donor to the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund, a hair donor to the Little Princess Trust, and promoter of LGBTQ+ equality, he has motivated me to be a more public activist instead of internalizing my beliefs.

"Catapult," middle right. This is the logo of a startup incubator where I launched my first company, Threading Twine. I learned that business can provide others access to fundamental human needs, such as economic empowerment of minorities and education. In my career, I hope to be a corporate advocate for the empowerment of women, creating large-scale impact and deconstructing institutional boundaries that obstruct women from working in high-level positions. Working as a women's rights activist will allow me to engage in creating lasting movements for equality, rather than contributing to a cycle that elevates the stances of wealthy individuals.

"Thank God it's Monday," sneakily nestled in the upper right corner. Although I attempt to love all my stickers equally (haha), this is one of my favorites. I always want my association with work to be positive.

And there are many others, including the horizontal, yellow stripes of the Human Rights Campaign; "The Team," a sticker from the Model G20 Economics Summit where I collaborated with youth from around the globe; and stickers from "Kode with Klossy," a community of girls working to promote women's involvement in underrepresented fields.

When my computer dies (hopefully not for another few years), it will be like my passport expiring. It'll be difficult leaving these moments and memories behind, but I probably won't want these stickers in my 20s anyways (except Harry Styles, that's never leaving). My next set of stickers will reveal my next set of aspirations. They hold the key to future paths I will navigate, knowledge I will gain, and connections I will make.

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Sticking to a Story: Laptop Stickers Foster Self-Expression On Campus

Each sticker is personal to the computer user. Students often have explanations for what they choose to reveal through the ornaments decorating their laptops.

Glancing around classrooms, Damen’s common area or even a grassy quad, open laptops can be seen with a population of stickers adorning them. Computers have become a college essential and choosing to decorate them with stickers has become the status quo at Loyola. 

Senior psychology major Zoey Zanowski cherishes her cow head sticker because it reminds her of her hometown in Wisconsin. She plans on getting a tattoo to match her sticker to always remind her of home. 

With a minor in women and gender studies, Zanowski says her studies inspired her “female body is beautiful” and “intersectional feminism is the only feminism” stickers on the top right and and left of her laptop. She’s in the Women In Leadership club at Loyola and is passionate about feminism and women’s rights.

Zanowski’s most original sticker is the monochromatic sketch of a eyeless woman driving a car. The sticker’s mysterious significance makes it stand out on the senior’s laptop.

“My older siblings’ friend actually made the drawing and I bought it at our high school art fair,” Zanowski said.“I just think art is a great expression of personality.”

Senior Libby Prosch, is proud of her “Growing Our Collective Power” sticker which depicts animated fruits with faces. The sticker was given to Prosch for her donation and participation in March For Our Lives , an activist group that attempts to bring awareness to gun violence. 

Prosch said she had outgrown some of her stickers. She points out her “Vote Igor” sticker.

“I was really into Tyler, the Creator freshman year,” the political science and Spanish double major said. 

Similarly, sophomore C.J. Leet said not all of her stickers were representative of her anymore. She points out a sticker depicting a “Superbad” scene with Evan (Michael Cera) saying, “Here’s to respecting women.”

“I’ve had the same laptop since I was 14,” Leet said, “Superbad is my indulgent movie now but I still agree with Michael Cera.”

The Medieval Torture Museum sticker commemorates Leet’s first visit to North State Street attraction. The museum features reenactments of the most cruel torture styles with mannequins, as well as chances to “experience” being tortured and torturing.

“I loved it so much, I went back again,” Leet said. “It’s really cool if you like messed up stuff.”

Junior biology major Neil Lagatao finds his stickers remain accurate to his current interests. The quote, “and the universe said i love you because you are love” overlaps ghost stickers on the right side of the laptop. 

“It’s from Minecraft, when you finish the game,” Lagatao said. “I thought it was pretty cool for a block game for kids.”

The Minecraft flowers beneath it give a subtle hint about the quote’s origins. 

A blue-tinted drawing of the character Yatora Yaguchi from Lagatao’s favorite manga “Blue Period” sits on the front of his laptop. The manga focuses on a character who is lost in life until finding his passion for art.

“I just find it really motivating,” Lagatao said. “It helps me get through school and my own life.” 

Benjamin Payne has a more effortless approach to choosing his stickers. The sophomore transferred to Loyola from Denison University, which explains his contradicting university sticker. He finds the best way to arrange and choose stickers is to “not think too much about it,” which he said has worked for him for the two years he’s owned his laptop.

His stickers also represent all the states he’s lived in. The “Give ‘em a BRAKE” sticker is a memento from his move from Washington to Minnesota, while his “Clutch Brewing Company” documents his time in Minnesota. 

Natalie Braga, a sophomore majoring in criminal justice and global studies, says her computer stickers tell a true tale of her past three years. Braga’s laptop features her political interests like her “my body my choice” sticker which she put on following the overturning of Roe v. Wade .

Braga said her Twilight, Glee and One Direction stickers still represent her today despite having them for a while. Towards the bottom of her laptop, sits a red and white drawing of two ladies whispering.

“My mom always had those vintage satire magnets and she got me the ‘all the cool kids are Directioners’ sticker,” Braga said. These magnets typically feature a picture of a 50’s housewife with a funny quote, and Braga’s sticker is a spinoff of those she said.

Her most important sticker is her blue heart, which is the logo of the Sawyer Woods Scholarship Foundation created for her friend that passed away. 

“She was on the same gymnastics team that I was, and having this sticker continues to remind me of her,” Braga said. 

The foundation collects donations in order to assist families with costs for gymnastics classes. By filling out an application and being accepted, a scholarship will be awarded to cover the expenses of any gymnastics program, for any age. They also have merchandise that goes towards the fund such as t-shirts and the sticker that Braga proudly displays on her laptop.

Featured graphic drawn by Hanna Houser | The Phoenix.

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Laptop stickers and what they say about the uchicago student.

You know what they say: a picture is worth a thousand words. I took this slogan to heart when I decided to embark on the journey of documenting laptop stickers around campus to see what they really say about the owner. I know they also say don’t judge a book by its cover, but please, let this be our secret…

The molecule sticker describes the owner of this laptop perfectly: intellectual, funny, knows that this molecule is of caffeine, and is a huge coffee drinker. It is complemented by constellations, a colorful moon, and an astronaut holding planets made to look like balloons (this person must really love outer space!). The owner is from Connecticut (we always need to represent our home on there somewhere) and loves to go to the beach and drink bubble tea. She, like her classmates, is well-versed in vine culture (if you haven’t seen the avocado one, please do, it is my favorite!) and loves dogs. I’ll have to say that the dancing skeleton, little dinosaurs, and beluga whale are some of the best stickers, and are far too hilarious to miss. The tiny succulents warm my heart because they are so cute and so delicately sprinkled throughout the collage. This laptop is fun, colorful, and just the right amount of intellectual. The owner shows a lot of school spirit and stays true to herself, which is something I love about her, and something that comes through just by looking at her stickers. 

This laptop embodies art, creativity, and imagination. The sticker near the bottom right corner is from the Logan Center, the multidisciplinary home for art on campus. This sticker (designed by the owner herself!), provides a window into the creativity and innovation of UChicago students. You’ll also notice the sticker in which the characters of American Gothic are sporting UChicago and Northwestern sweaters (they may even look better this way, if I do say so myself) to promote a free student night at the Art Institute of Chicago. The UChicago Arts Pass gives all students free admission to over 70 cultural institutions, including the Art Institute of Chicago, which is one of the largest and most well-regarded art museums in the United States. The maroon sticker represents the Oriental Institute, a museum and research center on campus specializing in Near Eastern studies and archaeology. Overall, this laptop is thought-provoking and captivating. It reiterates what is capable outside of the classroom and shows that our students have deep passions that are demonstrated in many ways.

For starters, this laptop is one of my favorites. The Harry Potter stickers, the positive proton joke, and the Encourage Mint provide just the right amount of intellectual humor. I personally love the sprinkling of dogs doing yoga (doga?) and the Elf sticker (the one and only truly acceptable wintertime movie). And avo-cardio still gets me every time (avocados really guac my world). There is an ocean theme throughout that gives it a warm and fuzzy feel. The blues and greens are relaxing tones that immediately transport me to a beach. Overall, this laptop is happy, bright, and a ton of fun. There is so much to look at, so much to love, and this one really makes me smile. I mean, just look at how cute that little whale is!

There is a lot going on in this one! I have to say that my personal favorite is the eclair sticker because it has great humor and, of course, chocolate. Or the goat yoga sticker (can someone explain to me what that even is?). The owner clearly has a sense of humor and is a member of Off-Off Campus, a well-known improv comedy troupe at UChicago. She loves pugs (pugs not drugs!) and can’t get enough of The Office. She probably drinks 8 full bottles of water per day, as indicated by the mostly covered up “hydration station” sticker and Nalgene (I bet hers is covered in stickers as well for some overflow seating). It seems like she is in a quandary over whether she prefers Vans or Chacos, as both are prominently displayed in the middle of the frame. And if you look really, really closely, you’ll see a Cuties clementines’ sticker.This is a lively, radiant laptop that has so many great moments and highlights worth mentioning!

And finally, here is my own laptop: 

I’d like to think of myself as a bright and happy person, which I hope comes through in the overall color scheme and playful vibe of each individual sticker. I am a member of the women’s soccer team here at UChicago, a huge Drake fan, and believe that there is truly nothing that a little Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream can’t fix. I’m a sucker for a good Disney movie and get genuinely excited to watch the Golden State Warriors or the Chicago Cubs play on TV. I like to poke fun at my friends (maybe my specialty?), which is surely evident in the gold star and unicorn stickers. And how could I not put something about coffee on there?  

A laptop can say a lot about someone without them having to say anything. My stickers are little pieces of who I am all mixed in to one -- my sense of humor, my positive outlook on life, my likes and dislikes, my love for a good dad joke. I so appreciate when people come up to me and tell me they love my stickers. It makes last summer’s 3 hour search on Redbubble.com all seem worth it…