At the end of the day, we’ve all been on a journey.
Whether you call them idioms, cliches, or something else, there are some things that are instantly recognisable owing to their universal and persevering popularity. Okay, so it’s important to a lot of people to be original and we all daydream about being a trailblazer, but the reality is that some cliches persist because they say it best.
There are certain topics you’ll know have cropped up time and time again on the yearbooks blog, and the same applies – we keep coming up with these ideas because they have a sense of classic timelessness about them. So, it’s time to hang up your fedora, abandon your wanton need to be an original, and join us on the bandwagon as we explain why some cliches are worth keeping.
Bucket Lists
There’s nothing more exciting than knowing you have so many unwritten years ahead of you. By sharing ideas with your fellow leavers, you might just uncover some undiscovered goals and ambitions you never knew you had. The beauty of these lists is that they can be as realistic or as outrageous as you choose, from building your own website to winning an Oscar for best actress.
Still want to try and squeeze a little bit of originality in? We recommend putting together a list of places that you, as a collective group, would like to visit. Add check boxes; this will be one to compare notes over at the reunion!
Class Awards
Although I was never part of a yearbook, our Year 13 teachers did put our Year 7 pictures up on the wall, jotting prospective job titles underneath. Mine was ‘evening newsreader’. It was a fun and memorable way to reflect on how our teachers saw our futures unfolding.
The yearbook equivalent goes much further than this of course, and there are myriad posts that offer ideas on what award categories to assign to your fellow leavers. You can stay in the present (funniest classmate) or delve into the future (most likely to spend the night in jail) – there’s no denying the whimsical charm of offering up your friends for a title that in 10 years time will make them smile (or cringe – both work well).
Who Are You?
Ah, baby pictures. The Achilles heel of the teen bringing home a partner. At some point, we promise that it becomes adorable and not in the least bit cringey*.
We’ve seen people use baby pictures, Year 7 class photos, and everything inbetween to show how everybody’s grown up over time. We think it’s a classic – we can almost guarantee it will keep your parents occupied at family gatherings for at least 30 minutes while they reminisce while you slip out the back to update Facebook.
* We are almost certainly lying about this.
Teacher Letters
Whether you’re leaving primary or secondary school, there’s sure to be at least a few teachers that are genuinely emotional at the thought of you moving on. It’s a big deal, after all. We can’t offer up any promises that Mr Flibble, the over-enthusiastic English teacher, won’t turn in an epic essay outlining what he’ll miss about each and every student (an editing nightmare, seriously), but we can promise that a heartfelt note from a face you saw daily, often for years, will be cherished in years to come.
Quotes, Quotes, Quotes
There’s a reason why we have more yearbook quotes blog posts than any other category; there isn’t a single person that doesn’t want to come up with something witty, memorable, or inspirational to put under their name in the yearbook. Whatever your motivation for wanting to stand out, nobody ever gets tired of reading potential quotes (hundreds of thousands of pinterest posts support this notion), and a good one might even gain you Internet fame one day.
Are there any yearbook cliches that we’ve missed? Are any of these missing from your yearbook? Want to tell us your amazing yearbook quote? Come see us on Twitter!
