Hi All,

This question is about fitting a school backpack that I often carry a lot of heavy books in. I know this is a hiking forum, but you guys know what's up in terms of carrying heavy loads in a packpack. I pinched nerve recently wearing a messenger bag that put all of the weight on my shoulder. Dumb...I now know.
I don't want to buy a hiking backpack for school, and really hoping to make this new one work (shown in picture). I'm even considering attaching a hip belt in a DIY manner with some PALS style webbing sewn into the side of the backpack. How does this fit look? Is the backpack just TOO big for me? To be clear, this bag is new but I don't want to hurt myself again and I'm having a hell of a time taking the weight off my shoulders and instead on my hips.

The yellow line in the picture is the top of my iliac crest (I hiked my pants up a bit so iliac crest aligned with top of my belt. The green line is the length of the "stiff" back padding. The grey line along bottom of pack just shows that the bottom of the bag sags down, below the stiff backing. The faint purple lines show where the backpack strap meet the bag in the hazy picture.

Any input particularly to avoid injury, adjust fit, put weight on my hips, and or give up on this particular bag would be greatly appreciated!