At Herron High School, creativity isn’t confined to the classroom—it extends to students’ everyday outfit. One of the most spirited ways students showcase their personal style and individuality are through their lanyards. What started as a utility is now a canvas of pins, stickers, and keychains. These accessories have developed into personal statements that reflect individuality and personal interests.

Lanyards, more generally used to hold IDs, are now being transformed into unique forms of self-expression. Students at Herron often embrace this opportunity to change a mundane thing into a statement piece. Whether it’s a bold pin, a favorite band sticker, or a colorful keychain, each addition to a lanyard holds importance.

When asking a student about her pins attached to a lanyard, she explained each of them to me. She has a heart fingers pin that matches with her sister that shows how much her family means to her. She also has a pin that features the lesbian flag and it showcases her sexuality and identity. The student has a myriad of other pins that she says she relates to in some way. The pins the student decorates her lanyard with vary by meaning, going from extremely meaningful to her person to silly jokes. Each pin represents an area of her personality.

When interviewing another student, she explained the significance of each sticker she showcases on her ID case. The main eye-catcher is her stack of jeans day passes. During the Riley Dance Marathon spirit week, passes were sold so each student could wear their spirit wear while also raise money for Riley Hospital. This student collected them and wears each one from the week on her ID. The collection of those five pieces of paper represent how meaningful Riley Dance Marathon is to her. She also features a shoe sticker and a weight sticker which represents her love for Track and her love for fitness. All around the student’s ID, there are stickers featuring words of encouragement. Each uplifting word invigorate her as a student and as a person. Each sticker this student flaunts shows all her passions, from sports to clubs. Every single sticker helps expose who this student is.

In a school where students are constantly navigating self-expression and identity, the stickers, pins, and keychains adorned to a person’s lanyard can speak volumes. These small, personal touches allow students to showcase who they are and what they like in a way that is both creative and authentic. By turning the everyday objects of lanyards and ID cases into canvases of self-expression, students are embracing individuality and contributing to inclusivity at Herron.