Yearbooks

Looking through your old high school yearbook can really change your perspective on things. Things that seemed so important at the time seem a lot more mundane when there's more distance between you and your high school years. You read some of the details that were so great you had to put them under your picture...now they seem quaint and occasionally you have to rack your brain to even remember what exactly they are.

A yearbook itself is a collection of odd memories that are recorded at the time. If you were to completely forget them you probably wouldn't miss them that much anyway.

Your Photograph - it is a rarity that someone "loves" their HS photograph. Years later most people look at their photo and think, "Did I really look like that!?!? Was that hairstyle really cool once? or I can't even look at it!"
Just the thought that that will be the last image some of your classmates will have of you in years to come isn't very comforting.

Quotes - Everyone has those cliched bumper sticker sounding slogans that are supposed to be inspiring. You find them on every page. "Our journey ends..." "A bright future..." "What lies ahead...." it goes on and on. It's hard to think of one that's original, so the same ones get recycled over and over again. Some are quotes, some are song lyrics, some philosophical sayings. Almost all have been used before.

Most Likely - I never liked the idea of voting for someone for a beloved title of "Most Likely...whatever". The worst is the one who gets "Most Likely to Succeed". I wouldn't want the pressure that my class is counting on me to become a success. Why do I have to represent my Class that way? Are they going to help me reach this success or do I have to do it on my own? And how successful do they want me to get? Maybe my idea of success is different than theirs. And another thing, all the people who didn't win Most Likely to Succeed.....what is that telling them??? Is everyone else vying for the title of More Likely to Fail? They have little to no chance of succeeding?? Are we just categorized as: "Well Maybe With Some Luck You'll Come Close to Succeeding But We're Not Counting On It". You never saw that title under someones picture I guarantee you!

Popular People - Your flipping through the pages and you come across the same people over and over again. They seem to be on every page. Extra activities, sports teams, posing with teachers (the brown nosers). These are usually the people who win those Most Likely titles by the way. The Yearbook almost becomes their personal album about themselves that they're sharing with us. A little bit of fairness should be shown. I think everyone should get equal time, like Presidental Candidates. Of course there are kids who are more involved with school activities, but just because someone else isn't doesn't mean they shouldn't have equal page time! If your not in any of the photos of the clubs, sports or whatever, you should be given a spot to do whatever you want with. A tour of your locker, your favorite seat in the cafeteria, the spot where that bastard teacher caught you with a cigarette. The Class President shouldn't be more important than those guys who spent the last four years sniffing glue and doing doughnuts in the parking lot. The book is about OUR CLASS, let's give everyone equal time!

I didn't get to work on my Yearbook at the time. Most of my suggestions probably would have been vetoed anyway. It's doubtful they would ever sway from the traditional layout of them. I haven't seen any Yearbooks in recent years, so maybe they're much different now. They'll always serve the same purpose. In years ahead most people will look at them and see how much they've grown, think about certain people they haven't heard from in years and think about what they might be doing, and marvel how nice looking that one particular person (everyone has one) looked and hope that time wasn't too kind to them....unlike you, which have just gotten better as time passes!