Picture This

When I was preparing to graduate from high school in 1976, I took what at the time was considered a bold step by having my graduation photograph taken outdoors.  I stood in tall grass in front of an old, paint-peeled building, wearing a 19th century-style dress that was popular in that era, looking down at a bouquet of lavender asters.  It was quite an artsy shot and certainly a departure from the normal, posed graduation pictures.  It was so out of the mainstream that I was obligated to have a regular posed shot for the yearbook.  Fast forward 35 years to today's graduation photos published in a special supplement of our local newspaper recently.  There, I saw an amazing array of photo styles.  There were outdoor and indoor photos, faces smiling and not smiling, kids wearing hats, some holding musical instruments and yet others cuddling their pets. What I loved about the photos was that these kids looked like real people, not posed graduation mannequins.  Gone for the most part were shirts and ties or fancy sweaters. Instead, you got a glimpse of the essence of each individual in those graduation photos -- relaxed, casual, fun, authentic. Best wishes to all of this year's graduates -- May you always be true to yourselves.