Inside a Middle Schooler’s Mind During Supply Season

Cue the dramatic sighs and the sudden need to look away: the moment a middle schooler sees a back-to-school display in July, the panic sets in. One second they’re living their best life in swim trunks and popsicle mode—and the next, a neon yellow sign is screaming “#2 PENCILS $0.50!” at them.

And just like that, their carefree summer brain starts spiraling.

“Wait, what day is it?! How many days do I even have left?!”

“No. Absolutely not. I still haven’t recovered from finals.”

“Why are there so many folders? Do I need folders? What’s the difference between a 3-prong and a 2-pocket?!”

“Mom is looking at graphing calculators. Why are there so many buttons?!”

“Do I even remember how to spell my name in cursive?”

“Do teachers know about ChatGPT?!”

“Time to work on pretending I’m listening”

The inner chaos is real. Middle schoolers are a rare breed of emotional roller coaster, and nothing awakens the drama like a bin of 10-cent erasers and a clearance backpack rack.

Here’s what’s really going through their heads (and, let’s be honest, a little bit of ours too):

• Denial: This can’t be happening. I just got into my summer routine of waking up at noon and eating Doritos in bed.
• Comparison mode: If I don’t get the cool mechanical pencils, I’ll look like I still live in 2018.
• Existential dread: Will I have classes with my friends? Will my locker work this year? Will I survive gym?
• Fashion panic: What’s in this year? Are Crocs still cool or do I have to start caring about shoelaces again? How high are we wearing our socks this year?
• Secret excitement: Okay, maybe I do like fresh notebooks. And color-coding. And seeing everyone again. But no one can know I said that.

And from a teacher’s perspective? We’re watching it all unfold with a sympathetic smile, secretly organizing our own Target carts while hoping someone donates the right number of dry erase markers. Thinking about bulletin board themes, panic of the copier not breaking down in the middle of a project, and secretly wondering if that “one kid” has changed at all this summer.

Back-to-school season is equal parts dread and anticipation. And for middle schoolers—who live in a swirling tornado of emotions on a normal day—it hits extra hard.

So next time your 13-year-old stares blankly at a pack of index cards with the look of someone facing the apocalypse, give them a minute. Let them grieve summer. Let them question why highlighters come in so many colors. And then, remind them: it’s going to be okay.

Because even if their brain is buzzing with panic and pencil preference anxiety, a fresh start is just around the corner. And deep down? They’re kind of ready.

(Just don’t say it out loud.)