What started out as a simple bet with a buddy turned into an everyday occurrence for senior Jordan Grafnitz.  Jordan has been wearing a stuffed animal leopard on his shoulder almost his whole high school career.   “A buddy of mine brought in a bag of random things and I chose the stuffed animal to wear on my shoulder,” Jordan stated, referring to how the idea came about.  Little did anybody know at the time that this decision would last over three years.

Jordan admits that after a certain point, he began to grow attached to the stuffed animal on his shoulder.  The stuffed leopard has never changed; it has and always will be the same one until the day he stops wearing it.  When asked if he will continue to wear it after high school he said that maybe he will continue the tradition into college.

So just how far has this bet gone?  The stuffed animal did not make it into his yearbook picture against his request to wear it.  Jordan only wears it to school and no where else.  He does not sleep with it on, but it makes its way into his outfit every single day before school.  He says that it sits underneath his shirt to keep it from falling off in the crowded hallways at Blaine.

Seeing someone wearing a stuffed animal on their shoulder is not something you see very often, so naturally people are going to talk about it.  When asked what he hears people say about it, Jordan stated that “some people find it immature, however some people respect me for doing my own thing”.  Being surrounded by high schoolers who like to judge, many can agree that what he does is both brave and unique.  It sets him apart from everyone else and gives him an identity in a school of 3,000 students.

So what is the exact reason?  Jordan says that there is no specific reason for it;  it has just become something he does now.  No different than brushing your teeth or putting on a shirt in the morning, it has become part of his daily routine and will continue to be apart of it for a long time.