The Container Store is my Disney World

Sometimes, joy can fit in a pencil pouch.

I am a 20-year-old woman.

A junior in college.

A functioning adult with a résumé, a career plan, and growing collection of business-professional blazers.

And this year?

I have purchased glitter gel pens … twice.

Do I regret it?

Absolutely not.

If anything, it was an investment in my mental health.

Some people cope by going out on Friday nights.

I cope by color-coding my calendar and notes.

Walking into The Container Store feels like entering the gates of Disney World. Opening the door? That’s like scanning my fingerprint to enter Magic Kingdom.

If only Disney World sold acrylic organizers instead of Mickey ears, and the princesses were Sharpies with smudge-free, perfect glide performance.

At the start of every new semester, I treat back-to-school shopping like the fate of my GPA depends on pen selection.

I’m not just picking notebooks — I’m picking who I’ll be this semester.

To start my junior year, I got a black notebook and covered it in patch stickers. Because growing up doesn’t have to mean giving up the glitter.

Organization isn’t a hobby. It’s an autobiography.

Life is chaotic. College is chaotic. The world? Chaotic.

But inside a perfectly divided drawer where every pen has a highlighter soulmate?

That’s where I find peace.

I will not stop buying glitter gel pens even though I am closer to law school than recess.

And I’ll never stop believing that my new pen can change everything.

Because if adulthood means finding small ways to keep the joy alive,

mine glitters.