Reason number 5: Waking up earlier than usual so you can have time to get ready.

Who wants to wake up earlier than usual just to get ready for a picture? Girls may wake up earlier just to make sure their hair is perfectly perfect, their makeup is dark enough to show up on camera but not so heavy to make them look like a monster or an 80s band member. Boys might wake up earlier to make sure their shirt is crisply ironed or to spend extra time practicing their smiles.

Reason number 4: The not-so-fun background choices.

“Would you like dull blue or dull grey?” BORING! What about bright pink or gold sparkles or tie dye or a galaxy of stars? Or why not an authentic background? Where’s the originality?

Reason number 3: The waste of time.

Waking up early, getting ready, spending half a class period in line…and it was all a waste of time, thrown away in the trash. Once you smile and that picture is taken, it’s over. Then you think about why you spent so much time just to get ready for one snap.

Reason number 2: The awkward poses

“Tilt your head down…not that far. Turn to the left a little…back to the right. Sit up straight. Now smile.” How are you supposed to look natural while playing Simon Says and contorting your body at weird angles. It’s so uncomfortable and annoying.

Reason number 1: The long-lasting ugly photo.

As pictures get passed back, the room resounds with “Ew!” and “Yuck” as kids clutch their photos to their chests to keep them from public view. Yeah, your mom or dad might think that it’s beautiful, gorgeous, or handsome, but you know it’s actually horrifying. The middle school years in particular can be brutal. Then your mom or dad puts it in a frame and hangs it on the wall or puts it on your table so everybody can see, and it sticks with you forever. And let’s not forget the year book; your awkward moment in history will be memorialized in the year book FOREVER.

Don’t believe me? Check out these yearbook pictures of Mayfield teachers, Mrs. Golem, Mrs. Saunders, and Mr. Stephens.