The wonderful, funny and strange world of laptop stickers

When Apple and Microsoft constructed their clean-edged, stainless-steeled, cutting-edge laptops, they probably didn’t expect their customers to blanket them with Kim Kardashian, Bucky Badger and pastel-colored organ stickers. But UW students are different and love to express themselves in any and every way possible.

Here’s a peek into the wonderful, funny and often strange world of laptop stickers.

Arame Diop’s laptop has not one, not two, but three Kim Kardashian stickers. One, of Kim in bed staring blankly at the ceiling, is very relatable, Diop said.

The other two – “Kim there’s people that are dying” and “Kim would you stop taking pictures of yourself your sister’s going to jail” – underscore a way Diop approaches life. When Kim dropped one of her earrings on the beach and started crying, her sister told her that there are more serious and important things in life than lost jewelry.

“I kind of apply that to now. Like, don’t worry about the small stuff,” she said.

Emma Froelich plastered her laptop with the things she cares about most. A forestry major, several of her stickers reference nature, plants and the national and state parks she’s been to. The “Strong Public Schools” sticker was inspired by her parents.

“Both of my parents are teachers so I’m for good public schools,” she said.

The weathered stickers on Kate Melberg’s laptop are an insight into where she’s been and what she’s passionate about. The sticker of a chef carrying two plates of donuts comes from the Oxford Donut Shop in Ohio, where she’s from.

The warning stickers were picked up on a tour of a German industrial plant she visited while studying abroad.

“When I think about them, I think about Germany,” she said.

Chloe Farber, a pre-health student, is obsessed with organs, as evidenced by her laptop.

“I love anatomy, it’s my favorite class I’ve ever taken,” she said.

Her favorite one on her Macbook? The pancreas (the adorable light blue and green guy). My favorite? Definitely the lungs flexing their biceps.

“I tried to get them at places instead of just buying a bunch of them,”Jessa Hansen said.

Some are from national parks she’s been to, others are from local coffee shops. Her favorite, though, is a lyric from the Head and the Heart: “Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways.”

Kyle Casey was in Hong Kong visiting his brother when he happened upon his favorite sticker.

“I was there over the summer and a worker handed it to me as I was walking out of the park,” he said, referencing the colorful Hong Kong Disneyland sticker. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is an amazing sticker.”

Lilly Freemyer’s favorite sticker? The “Lyman Seaborn 2020” one, a reference to her favorite show, The West Wing. The fictional presidential ticket pairs Samuel Seaborn, a communications director portrayed by Rob Lowe, and Josh Lyman, White House Chief of Staff portrayed by Bradley Whitford, together.

“I’m into politics, but I don’t like to put political statements on my laptop,” Freemyer said.

Cassidy Schorr’s laptop is clean except for two Camp Kesem stickers in the top right corner. Camp Kesem, a non-profit organization that supports children whose parents have or had cancer, gave her friends and memories she will cherish forever.

“I spent four years at UW volunteering for this organization,” she said. “It helped me find a major I loved and friends that will last a lifetime.”

Some stand for her favorite Starbucks coffees, others show iconic moments from The Office. One appears to show Lebron James gesturing emphatically at a can of La Croix.

Claire McQuiston’s favorites remind her of her home in Minnesota.

“It’s a nice reminder of home,” she said. “I also like the German Shepherd one because my dog is a German Shepherd.” (His name is Sarge)

Each of Julia Glaeser’s stickers is a piece of her most cherished things. A Supreme bottle cap in the top left corner reps her love of streetwear and the “I’m fine. It’s fine. Everything is fine,” sticker represents the way she approaches life.

“I’m a huge Vikings fan,” she said, pointing to a sticker of Stefon Diggs, a wide reciever for the Minnesota Vikings.

A sticker of three fists raised is inspirational. “It’s a good symbol and a good reminder,” she said.

Out of nearly a dozen stickers, Ellery Gronski, a true Badger, likes her Bucky Badger sticker the most.

“It’s the most representative,” she said.

On the left of Fernando Espinosa’s laptop, a sticker from Hamline University in Minnesota, which he attended as an undergrad. On the right, a sticker of UW, where he is currently working towards a degree in physical therapy.

“It’s the journey,” he said.

Serena Haley’s stickers show a wide range of interests, but her favorite is the sticker with fists raised in unity. She said it’s a symbol of the power that comes with being united despite differences.

“It’s important to me in today’s political climate especially,” she said.

Autumn Facktor loves Aroma Coffee. Like, really loves it. Apparently, each coffee comes with a morsel of chocolate on top and some flavors taste like ice cream. Although there Aroma Coffees all across the world, there are only two in the U.S. – one in Florida and the other in New Jersey. She said she has seriously considered opening up her own chain in Madison, knowing that if people could taste their coffee, they would wait in lines for it like they did in Israel, where she picked up the sticker while on a Birthright trip.

“It sucks we don’t have it here, and it makes me want to move,” she said.

Want more? See our previous edition here. Are you proud of your laptop stickers? Send us a picture at theweekly@uc.wisc.edu