To the class of 2020: my senior picture won’t comfort you; it won’t inspire you, it won’t support you. It certainly won’t take the narcissistic opportunity to feed the need to share a glamour shot of—what is for some people—a physical peak under the guise of supporting you, or giving you the impression that the world cares about you. Please, don’t misunderstand and think that I’m happy about your misfortune (quite the opposite, I assure you) because my high school experience was great and I wish everyone could have the same experience(s) that I did. I made a lot of friends in high school that have turned into being life-long friends. I made friends that, since graduation, have moved on with their lives—in various places all over the world—and have lost touch with them. (Though I do wish them all the best and am very happy to see their happiness and success).
All of the memories and friends that I have made over the course of those four years are irreplaceable. But I also know that I’m in the minority there. A lot of people have a downright awful high school experience and look forward to getting out. Whatever camp you’re in, you need to know that the world isn’t against you, it just doesn’t care. Your social media timeline that is full of pictures of people sharing their senior pictures are less interested in supporting you as they are about fishing for complements. Don’t believe me? Then what normal adult has a friends list jam-packed with high schoolers that would benefit from sharing their vanity and vapid words of encouragement? That is the way of the world—you assume someone means well by you, but in reality they’re only out for their self-interest using you as a Trojan Horse excuse to get something that they want. You’ll see it later in life, as you enter the professional world, just as you get it now with this first taste of how venomous this vain society is.
In interest of full disclosure, I’m not different than anyone else and appreciate a warm reception (Likes) to content that I put out (articles, selfies, shares, whatever). So I’m not trying to demonize that practice and be hypocritical. I thought you’d benefit more from some truth rather than posting a 20-year-old picture for my own self-absorbed purposes.
So, to the Class of 2020 who caught a worse introduction to the world than most of us, welcome to the machine.
