Dear High School Seniors

Dear 2018 Graduating Seniors,

Where did this year go!? How are you graduating in less than a month? We have created amazing albums, grad cards and wall art to celebrate your next adventure in life.

I can honestly say I love photographing seniors. You are so young, so full of life and the world awaits you! I see how hard you work in school and how devoted you are to your studies, sports and arts endeavors. With each session, I get to know you better and I am continuously surprised with how light your heart is and how excited your spirit remains. 

Just the other day, I sat with a mother who has a graduating senior in the ELC Photography studio and chatted about my own going away for college. We talked of the excitement and nervousness I personally felt about moving away from everything I knew. I remember how my mother's hands trembled as she helped fill my '98 Toyota Tercel with boxes of my belongings. Standing in the driveway of my childhood bungalow home, I looked back once more and drove toward Glenwood Springs Colorado, leaving Lincoln Nebraska in a cloud of dust. 

I arrived at Glenwood Springs and felt a burst of renewed energy at the thought of pursuing my lifelong dream of becoming a photographer. One day, a week into the first semester, a group of my new college friends drove over to the local diner, feeling a bit lonely and missing our families in the vastness of starting a new life. We slid into the colorful vinyl seats and ordered a few burgers and sodas. Hamburgers, milkshakes and fries can help anyone out, especially homesick college kids. Our bill arrived and to our surprise, it was paid for. We asked our waitress if there had been a mistake. She said the table behind us overheard our conversation about our adjusting to new college life and homesickness and wanted to treat us. We glanced around the table at each other and smiled, silent tears sliding down our cheeks. 

Even though we were far away from home, we felt taken care. To this day I will always remember that moment. Being a mother myself I now realize how important it is to feel you are still protected by the nature of your future. 

To the parents sending their children off into the unknown, I know it is frightening. But find comfort in the fact there are still good people in the world.

And to all you high school seniors ready to start this new chapter, I wish for you the best in your next adventure! Congrats on graduating!