Thanks to my father’s photography skills, my sisters and I grew up with a camera in our faces. Labeled boxes filled with photos line the closets of his studio.

My senior year of high school, I put off taking my senior photos until a month before graduation, i.e. when senior pictures aren’t cool anymore. I went into my dad’s studio after cheerleading practice, and smiled my biggest and brightest. Or so I thought. Days later when I asked to see how they had turned out, my dad refused to show me. I guess he was looking after my self esteem.

Evelyn graduates one week from today. She really put off taking her senior photos, seeing as I just got my hands on this photo 10 minutes ago, and her graduation party invite only included a sweet note with an illustration of a bird flying away from its nest.

Dad, when are you going to show me how pretty I was my senior year?