Four students share the colorful stories splashed across their laptops

Over the years, freshman Josh Freedman has accumulated an astounding 200 stickers. For him, stickers are a way to connect with his loved ones.

Freedman said he especially loves stickers from national parks because they remind him of hiking with his family.

Beyond physical places, Freedman's stickers have emotional connections. His favorite sticker is one that his sibling gave to him the day that they went o to college.

“I don't put it on anything because I don't want to waste it.”

Sophomore Navaa Malihi’s fondness for stickers began in her freshman year and is expressed through all 26 of them covering her laptop.

Malihi said she uses stickers to share her love for media, but not just any sticker makes the cut.

“I value some kind of signi cance,” she said.“I'm not going to put on a sticker just because I think it's pretty or because I think it looks nice.”

Malihi said she doesn’t see a reason not to use stickers.

“[You could leave] your laptops dry and plain, but there's so much potential in that one small space."

From store labels to the NASA logo, freshman Boston Bulis’ laptop is adorned with all kinds of stickers.

Bulis said he likes to use stickers not only to express himself, but also to prompt conversation.

“You can share your interests, show who you are, and maybe tell a bit of a story about,” he said.

Bulis said stickers can have a deeper social importance, but can also be more simple.

“Stickers are de nitely up there in non-direct ways to start conversations,” he said. “Overall they’re a nice, colorful way to light up your day.” e stickers on senior Pearl Berzin’s laptop display the diversity of her passions, including skiing and Taylor Swift. ey are also a way for her to express values, like gender equality. She said one of her most important stickers is a quote from Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

She continued with the story of another sticker about gender equality. e sticker shows a woman cooking, but says, “Let’s cause a stir”.

“When you look at it, it's kind of aesthetic and cute. It was subtle, but also important and representative and true to me,” she said.