1. 2. 3. SMILE… it’s PICTURE DAY

We all remember Picture Day. I especially remember the extreme anxiety and importance behind that annual event. You had one shot to look good. Those school photographers did not understand just how important it was to get a good picture. Instead, you stood in line, walked up to that stool, turned around, sat down, the photographer counted 1.2.3, and SNAP. Your persona for that entire school year was defined in one second. Not only would that picture be forever memorialized in the yearbook, those wallet-sized photos would be passed amongst your classmates like playing cards. The more pictures you had, the more popular you were. And you couldn’t participate in this game without having your own picture to exchange in return. So a bad picture meant that you would miss out on the first round of picture exchanges while you waited for Re-Take Day.

And then comes the drama of Re-Take Day. To re-take or not to re-take was always the question. What if your re-take was worse than your first picture? You were never allowed to chose the better of the two; thus, deciding to re-take meant gambling whether you would be able to manage a better picture on round two. I generally chose to stick with the first picture, even though I was usually unhappy with how I looked. As long as my eyes were open and my hair manageable, I stuck with picture number one. The risk was too great otherwise. Furthermore, the quality of my picture was largely dependent on the success of my classmates with their own Glamour Shots. When one friend had an amazing picture that meant that all other friend pictures were less desired for the exchange. Looking back on the picture exchange process, the degree of friendship never really mattered as much as the quality of picture up for exchange. Good pictures made you jealous and unhappy with your own portrait, but you still desperately wanted to exchange for those glamorous pictures. It was very superficial, like most middle and high school social activities, yet it was extremely important at the time.

So what happened to all of these coveted pictures and influential yearbooks? They were either lost or continue to collect dust somewhere in my parent’s house. Their importance diminished quickly with age. However, much of that old Picture Day anxiety remains. Driver’s License pictures, School ID’s and Work badges seem to uphold that age-old process of standing in line, walking up to that stool, turning around, sitting down, and 1.2.3. SMILE you are stuck with one shot. Perhaps grade school actually knew what they were doing and prepared us to accept that our eyes will be closed, our hair will be flat, and someone else will always have a better picture.