Believe it or not, I had just finished a short novel on my thoughts on graduation and ended up tossing it out because it wasn’t what I wanted to say. Writing a blog isn’t always easy, writing something that isn’t yet another generic post about the best graduation poses for photographers or your Instagram stories isn’t what I wanted to do. 

So I sat back and sipped from my coffee cup in a little coffee shop while a lawn maintenance worker outside was running the leaf blower like everyone’s life depended on it. 

Instead of another generic post about graduations, let me share some personal thoughts and experiences, all inspired by my oldest daughter, who was asked to be an emcee for this year’s graduation ceremony of her high school. 

She still has a year to go. My second oldest has two more years to go, but between them attending high school and college, working, and living their best teenage life, I have no choice but to reflect on how we got here so fast and ponder what the future holds.

If you are a parent to a kid graduating this year, whether it is from high school or college, or you are graduating yourself, let me start by saying:

You did this. 

You did this!

You were braver than you believed. Remember the first day of school, back when you were little and could hardly even tie your own shoes? You were brave. You let go of your parents hand and walked into your classroom, your heart probably beating a bit faster. You were nervous to make new friends and wondered if your teacher would be nice. You were brave, and to this day, you are brave, heading for new situations, meeting new people, and learning new things. You are always braver than you believe. 

You are smarter than you think. You were always smarter than you thought. When you first learned your letters and numbers, you held that pen to write your first words. It was difficult, but you got a hang of it. When you had to sit through your first quiz, you may have thought you would fail, but you didn’t. As you grew, so did your knowledge. You may still think you don’t know enough, but you will always be smarter than you think. 

You did this, and you should definitely celebrate. 

But when you do, don’t just celebrate your own accomplishments, but acknowledge the people who have sacrificed so much for you to make it here. Your graduation likely was a team effort. You and your teacher, you and your friends, you and your siblings, you and your parents. A team effort. 

When you take graduation photos, a milestone so important it deserves to be commemorated by images from a professional photographer, do not worry so much about the best poses, hair, makeup, and outfit, but do consider not only getting photos of yourself but also getting photos with the people in your life who have been supporting you through your academic years. 

When you hire a photographer or ask your very talented friend with a camera, instead of just getting standard graduation photos on a beach or with a mountain backdrop, like everyone does, ask your photographer to be part of the celebration, to shadow you and your people, to document your graduation day and/or celebration, for these are the images you will one day look back on and wonder how another twenty years have passed already. 

If you are graduating this year and have not yet gotten a photographer booked, don’t wait too much longer. Graduation is a busy season for many of us. If you are reading this from the Hawaiian Island and wish to chat about graduation photos with me, for yourself or your kids, you can find me here.

The last short paragraph might read like a short love not, but let’s keep you in the look. A long long while ago I moved into a house with my little family, next to a family who moved in just a week prior. We have been friends since. Last year, that friend, seen in pictures above asked me to capture some graduation images. With her permission I shared a couple of them with you of that session in downtown Honolulu. It’s always a bit special to be ask to photograph your friends, more so when someone finishes a degree. I am incredible proud of her for finishing her degree to graduate as a midwife, while juggling her own family and life itself. When we first met, she was pregnant with her second baby. I may have been the notch she needed to start her career in Childbirth and female health and here she is, all these years later. A Midwife. Yvonne is a home birth midwife on the island of O’ahu, serving all Hawaiian islands. She also offers Doula services along with other services for families to be. Feel free to visit Wunderbirth for more information and don’t forget to tell your pregnant friends about her.

And with that, I shall not keep you any longer. May you have a wonderful graduation season.