- December 14, 2025
Being on the yearbook committee in high school, I always made sure to include my own special memories like poorly timed tennis photos of my ex-boyfriend and casual group shots of my own clan of weirdos.
It was a symbol that an era had ended, and all that was left were these messages from the people who knew me when I was just a shy kid without a clue, but with a lot of Hollister tee shirts.
Their final written goodbyes were supposed to be a remembrance of my time at Deltona High School. Something I could look back on with a smile and probably a grimace. But five years later, some of the signatures of my former classmates generate no reaction at all.
“HAGS,” the abbreviation for “Have A Great Summer” nearly decorated entire pages of white space meant for embarrassing memories and sincere compliments. But back then my focus was obviously quantity not quality. People who I haven’t seen in half a decade chose to make their final memories of themselves to be trendy lingo and not something worth remembering and bringing up at the reunion. Even some of my current best friends, left no more than a phone number and “We should hang soon!”
You would have thought after a four years of borrowing lunch money and hitching rides in the car pool that I would have had more of an impact on these people. Though it didn't mean anything then, it does now.
High schoolers, future graduates: don’t make the same mistake.
I know this month has been an insane roller coaster of college applications, graduation parties and remembering to thank your grandparents for the congratulations check, but take a moment to breathe. Remember the moments where you did really stupid stuff that could only be excused because of your age, and well, YOLO. Thank the peers or adults that influenced your life, good or bad, because it put you on the path you're following today. Write something meaningful in you're friends yearbook, because who really knows if you'll keep in touch after high school.
There are a few former classmates of mine that have died since graduation, and one of the only memories of them I have left are their yearbook signatures. Not to get all morbid on you, but things do happen. It's important to appreciate everything — and everyone — you have in your life right now.
Social media communication is always an option, but you’ll be different people soon. Grown-ups with degrees, and jobs and cars that weren’t handed down to you. Who you are now is just a stepping stone to the person you are meant to be. So pay tribute to this era in your life, this person you are now, and write something that really matters. Something you won’t be ashamed to read five years later.
No more HAGS.
