If you ask my mother, she would claim I have a water bottle issue. She would also probably say I’m a backpack hoarder, but that’s a story for another time. What can this girl say? I love water bottles and backpacks. What I don’t love is the mighty price tag on each and every shiny new bottle. They are so expensive! In an ideal world, I would have a 32 ounce blue hydroflask with a bunch of stickers on it — whales, sharks, “future marine biologist,” and a sockeye salmon. Why the sockeye salmon? Because they are freaking cool, that’s why. In another distant world, I would have a green Stanley cup with turtles and coral engraved on it, but it is a very far-off world because Hydroflasks are better than Stanley cups. Yes, I said it. My dreams of owning these glorious shiny and trendy water bottles have yet to come true, but what I do have are bottles with character.
The Camp Ripley Summer Camp water bottle(s): I wish I was joking when I said I have nine of the same bottles floating around my room. Each one is covered in scratches, smudged Sharpie, and memories from all my previous years at camp. A couple of them even have cute little key chains on them that my campers and friends have made for me. Overall, they aren’t the best water bottles. We mostly use them in the counselors’ prank wars because they are easily forgettable and breakable.
The Red Lululemon Bottle: This was a glorious and proud shiny water bottle before my boyfriend dropped it off my loft freshman year and put a huge dent in it. Now it has been designated as the nightstand water bottle for all those nights I get super thirsty in the middle of the night.
The Red Cross Bottle: This is where my juice goes. and You know it’s probably been a really hard week if I’m bringing out the Red Cross bottle.
The St. Olaf Water Bottle: I got this bottle during my first year of college. It has never been used.
The Borrowed Stav Hall Cup: While this may be just a cup, I sure do treat it like a water bottle. Let’s be honest with ourselves, who doesn’t have a borrowed Stav “water bottle”? Before you ask, yes, I do plan on returning it to its proper home before the end of the year.
The Minnesota Owala Bottle: This bottle is probably the most near and dear to my heart. My boyfriend bought it for me before we started dating a year and a half ago. We do long distance throughout most of the year, and he always says it was his way of making sure I stay hydrated when we are apart.
Brooke Ellis is from Cottage Grove, Minn. Her majors are biology and environmental science.
