The Treasured High School Yearbook

It was a special day in spring when the yearbooks arrived at school! Often, orders for the long-awaited books had been placed in advance of the big day. The school yearbook was a treasure trove of pictures—students and teachers, group pictures of clubs and organizations, sporting events and school activities, and candid moments during the school year. Scenes in the hallway, at the water fountain, or by the lockers were often captured on film and included on the pages of the yearbook or “annual” as it was often called. Clean, blank pages at the end provided space for handwritten notes from students and teachers. Especially for seniors, it was one of their last keepsakes from their school years. As the end of the school year approaches, I wonder how treasured the school yearbook is for students in 2023.

There was a time when the school yearbook was the main source of pictures for students as many families did not own a camera, cell phones and smartphones did not even exist, computers were just starting to make their appearance, and there was no social media like today. Sometimes, I must go way back in my memory to recall a time when picture making was not at our fingertips. Perhaps that type of scarcity is what made the yearbook—full of special moments and memories—so cherished. Over time, the yearbook may take a back seat to more current books and photo albums. They often end up on bookshelves and in storage chests to be retrieved only on rare occasions to look up someone’s picture. While the school yearbook may have been an exciting treasure during the school years, it is surely treasured even more today.

Words of Faith: “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:6 (KJV).