Senior portraits caused me to fall in love with photography, there is no doubt in my mind. I had taken pictures of many things throughout the years of having a camera, but no landscape, flower, animal or machine impacted me the way those young women and men did. I am older every year (science), although I don’t feel it. I attribute a good deal of my my false sense of youth 🙂 to the amazing high school seniors I spend time with. It may not be the fountain of youth, but it certainly does help.
“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” The quote is from the book of Proverbs, in the bible, and when I saw the second half tattooed on the shoulder of a senior this last fall, it made me think about what an underrated skill that is. To laugh without fear of the future shows both restraint and abandon, all at the same time. To restrain yourself from worry and fear in a manner that allows you to give into joy, fully, to the point of laughter… well, that’s no small accomplishment. Equally so, graduating high school and moving into the next phases of life is something to be proud of. Academic success comes easy to some, and to others it is a fight. Popularity lives side-by-side with the outcast. The dramas of high school seem ultimately important at the time, although many of them will be something to laugh at later in life. It takes work to to spend those years wisely, and to take advantage of the opportunities.
So, congratulations to the nearly graduated, I hope you make the most of the time that’s left in your high school career. I hope you can laugh without fear of the future and do so while clothed in both strength and dignity… and maybe most importantly, allow others to do the same. High five.
YOU’RE ALMOST THERE! Finish strong, and go make the world a better place.
