OK, so, Target.

2.6 miles up College Avenue from Zura Hall, it’s in the same parking lot as Walmart. I just can’t do Walmart, so like I said, Target. If I absolutely have to go to Walmart, I text my family in advance and promise to contact them if I make it out. Now, to paint a very clear picture, I live uncomfortably close to the Target shopping center and have for 25 years. My children grew up at Target. I don’t wanna brag, but someone in my family is at Target eight days a week.

In my decades of experience, I can tell you that Target has seasons that are very well-advertised. In the heat of the summer they start rolling out Christmas. The planet-sized snowflakes hanging from the ceiling are hard to ignore. They sway above you as a dire warning that not purchasing enough gifts will make Jesus Christ think you disrespect His birthday. When Halloween hits and the diabetes-sized bags of candy are placed ever so subtly next to the deodorant, laundry detergent and honey ham sliced sandwich meat, you know what time it is.

Let’s take a moment to hail the new season that is upon us. It’s Back to School at SDSU Season! This season has the expected displays full of school supplies and racks of SDSU apparel, but what makes this season special is the people. Five dudes with one shopping cart. It’s full of school supplies, beer, a crappy chair, a desk lamp, beer and a wheeled, clear plastic, three-drawer storage cart. Then there are the two girls in sweats. Their cart is full of school supplies, cleaning products, a crappy chair, a desk lamp and a wheeled, clear plastic, three-drawer storage cart.

Lastly, and this is my favorite of the festive groups, is one college student and their entire family. Mom, Dad and various siblings accompany our valiant dorm dweller as they push their cart through the masses. Guess what’s in their cart! Yup, a crappy chair, a desk lamp and a wheeled, clear plastic, three-drawer storage cart. I am firmly convinced that the beaches of Mumbai are littered with proof that Americans go to college. Not recently graduated volunteers delivering food to the needy, but you guessed it, wheeled, clear plastic, three-drawer storage carts.

This was not meant to sound cynical; in fact, quite the opposite. I fondly remember my  parents taking me to the same Target 25 years ago to lovingly fill a cart and buy me my first wheeled, clear plastic, three-drawer storage cart. It was, and is, a symbol of this blessed season and a relic of the college experience yet to come. So let’s join hands, and fill those three flimsy drawers with memories, thankfulness and joy. And in the words of Tiny Tim, God bless us, everyone.