I was a total yearbook nerd in high school (fun fact: I actually went to yearbook camp one summer). However, it wasn’t all for naught, I pursued journalism as a career and have been working in the industry for the last 10 years.
Growing up an 80s/90s kid, I was infatuated with family photos. This was back when we had photo albums with physical pictures in them and not digital files. This was also back when you snapped a photo and you didn’t know what it looked like until you brought the film to get developed.
One midwest summer, during a tornado warning, I grabbed boxes of our photo albums and took them into our basement. Just in case we lost everything, I didn’t want to lose what we couldn’t replace.
This need to document and organize our memories has carried over into present day. With the majority of my children’s lives having been documented via iPhone, SnapChats and Instagram etc., many moments I capture and post immediately can be lost. Not to mention, most of us can’t be *that person* that posts every.single.thing. they capture on their phones.
So, that’s why I have made it my annual tradition to make my children their own yearbooks. This isn’t like scrapbooking–I wouldn’t know how to begin scrapbooking. The paper and stickers and tools…I feel faint just thinking about it.
I organize their photos as best I can with the help of iCloud (family shared drives are helpful for grandparents who also have and take photos), and folders on my computer. I use online tools like MyPublisher (now defunct), Shutterfly and Mixbook to put the books together.
This has also helped me remember to be conscious of bringing our family camera to special events, so we can make sure that there’s something to take away from our experiences.
It’s funny to look back on my 4 year old’s yearbooks. The first book, it is just filled of pages with 20 pictures of the same pose–first smile, first tooth, first time trying to eat. The second book is mostly all blurry photos as he spent his time running away from me. Nevertheless, we have the memories, and I have the stories.
It’s a tedious undertaking, but it’s a lot better than not having those books to look back on. I love them dearly, and I hope my children will treasure them always.
2 thoughts on “Making Memories & Saving Them Too”