What are the Best Office Supplies?
Because The Barefoot Times is largely run by, written for, and tailored to high school students, it becomes increasingly necessary to produce a review on a topic that should interest any and all students: office supplies. Sure, office supplies may seem like a minute aspect of high school life, even trivial at times, but in truth, the office supplies people choose—things like paper, pencils, pens, erasers, or pencil sharpeners—provide insight into who they are as students and how they inhabit their school spaces. So, today, it is time to decide: which office supplies do students love most?
Fortunately for The Barefoot Times, Sequoyah student Sophia Schafer-Wharton ’26, a self-proclaimed office supplies enthusiast, has some recommendations and personal favorites to share. Schafer-Wharton picks up most of their office supplies at a store located in both the Arcadia mall and the Bay Area, where Schafer-Wharton shops, called Kinokuniya. There are certain staple brands Schafer-Wharton often goes back to and Kinokuniya happens to be one of them. But, what qualifies as a good office supply according to Schafer-Wharton? Well, Sophia Schafer-Wharton comments that she hopes that a good pen is “functional and is [of] decent quality to the point where it’ll last.” Longevity is obviously an important attribute. Having to discard and do away with your unfortunately short-lived office supply can turn a student’s whole year sour. Another important aspect of good office supplies, according to Ila Rea Brookshire ’27 “usually… has to do with the eraser.” Brookshire values a pencil with a stable, working eraser that does its job well. She recommends BIC’s mechanical pencils and prefers mechanical pencils to the classic number two pencil. Eva Famosa ’27 also values writing utensils with good erasers, but prefers erasable pens. The erasability of a seemingly permanent writing implement brings a sort of magical air to the art of using office supplies. Meanwhile, Rachel Youngstrom, a sophomore devoted to keeping office supplies on hand at all times, believes that in-person shopping over online shopping is the best way to go. In-person shopping allows one to better assess durability, aesthetics, and overall quality. Brookshire, Famosa, and Schafer-Wharton are all in agreement with Youngstrom and believe that the in-person shopping experience is necessary when purchasing office supplies.
Additionally, it turns out that the school environment is a very important factor when picking office supplies. Schafer-Wharton believes that bringing office supplies to school can be troublesome. Schafer-Wharten says: “I’ve gotten better at setting the boundary, but… sometimes you're going to be people pleasing. One time, last semester, I gave someone my only pencil that currently was [the only one] functioning, and then I just didn’t have a pencil for my class.” The utter tragedy! Brookshire shared another devastating experience about being a writing utensil supplier: “I become the person who people ask for pencils or pens…but people do not return those pencils.” So, both Schafer-Wharton and Brookshire choose carefully when picking office supplies to bring to school.
So, is there a best office supply? Well, Brookshire believes it to be mechanical pencils. Famosa and Schafer-Wharton also choose writing utensils as the best office supply, but Famosa prefers mechanical pencils and Schafer-Wharton likes both pens and mechanical pencils. However, Youngstrom thinks scissors are the greatest of all and remarked, “I think scissors [are the best] just because [of] how versatile they are.” To clarify: regular scissors, NOT the jagged ones. Youngstrom says, “I love them and I love their idea, but I do not like using them.” Unfortunately, while the question of the best office supply remains inconclusive, The Barefoot Times hopes that this article has provided some insight into worthy office supplies to explore.