Senior Pictures: it is the light at the end of the tunnel in high school. It was exciting to have those prints in hand, writing sentiments on the back, and passing them out to friends. For being an individual who hates photos, I was actually pleased with my senior pictures. When I sit down with my photo album from high school, I think, “Awe, how precious; we were so little!” Now, I sit down on Facebook and see senior photos for current students and I think, “What the heck!?”
Seriously, when did senior photos turn into shoots only seen in Cosmopolitan or People magazine?! Do high schoolers even have “ugly stages” anymore?! Why do their shirts not cover their belly buttons? And why aren’t they smiling?!
Without a doubt, these photo settings have changed over the decades: from simple stare in the distance to the close ups showing off overly priced class rings and now serious “model status.” Some current photos are a bit scandalous and jaw dropping. The question that I really want an answer for is…which of these goes on Grandma’s bookshelf?
By my senior year, I was happy to finally get my braces off, learned what eyeliner was, and I had found a way to somewhat manage my acne! I embraced my gangling, uncoordinated self and looked like the stereotypical teenager. Somehow seniors in “this day and age” look older and have nicer clothes that I currently do. There must be something in the water. In fact, it has to be the water because it is shrinking all their shirts.
But on a more serious note, I do hope that high schoolers realize they can highlight their beauty without poses that push the line of appropriateness for a seventeen year old. As we all know, our culture does a poor job of doing that for teenagers. So it is up to us, the survivors of high school, to encourage behavior and photos that are not risque in schools. Save the risque looks for your college years around Halloween…kidding…let’s save that talk for a later date.