Week 17

We are winding down the school year and things are stressful here on the Great Plains, so we are taking a break from the microphone this week.

On Tuesday, Mr. Stueve and his yearbook staff will hand out the yearbooks so I suggested we repost, with some edits, something I wrote on my old blog in 2014 about yearbook distribution week. Feel free to share it with journalism advisers and yearbook staffers you know.

Dear Yearbook Students,

I see how hard you work all year. Even though I’m not your adviser, occasionally you ask my advice, you let me preview work you’re proud of, and of course, sharing a room with you I get to witness your shenanigans, and sometimes those shenanigans make me laugh.

I field phone calls and sell yearbooks and answer questions and beg seniors to get their photos in on time, because I want your product to be something you’re proud of.

And every year, you create a book.

Read that sentence again.

How many students in this building can say they’ve done that?

Are there mistakes? Maybe.

Mistakes happen in writing and publishing. Look at any issue of the magazine long enough or pull up a story on our website and you’ll find mistakes, both in text and design. Those pages and stories are read dozens of times and we still miss things.

Step back for a moment and think about what you did, and what kind of character that required. What kind of bravery, to publish your photos and writing and design and then willingly hand it out to your peers for their enjoyment and scrutiny.

And scrutiny often abounds. As Russell Baker noted in 1995, “anger has become our national habit.” He said that before you were born. So anger has been a problem for a while, and right now it might feel like it’s the worst it’s ever been, especially when everyone has an opinion and instant access to a TikTok or YouTube account or heaven forbid, a podcast, to express their opinion. And of course, everyone thinks they are right.

So here’s my advice: relax. Enjoy your yearbook. It’s beautiful, and evidence of eight months of dedicated work. It is a historical document, showcasing what happened at the school in the past year, and by extension, the community. Ignore the haters, and if the scrutiny and criticism seem too much, just remember there are plenty more people who love what you did, and love you too.

Including me.