Have you ever experienced prolonged déjà vu?  When my former college roommate booked me for her daughter’s senior photos, it was major déjà vu!  Most of the time, this senior was very much her own person, but then she would turn or smile a certain way and I was instantly 20-some years younger laughing with my friend again.

I love it when seniors are so excited for their senior year that they book their senior session the summer before school starts!  We scheduled for July – yes, it would be hot, but also dry.  Since I was driving from Indianapolis, IN to Columbus, OH, there would be less need of a rain date. Except… Summer 2023 had a mind of it’s own and we needed a rain date in July!  I was also grateful that they had such great suggestions for locations, since I’m not a Columbus native.  Quarry Trails Metro Park, the dance studio this senior grew up in, and the incredible Bridge Park in Dublin, OH – or as I have started calling these locations, Wild at Heart, Memory Lane, and Bridge to the Future. Ha ha ha!

Readers should note that I bring a good bit of corniness to everything…  I actually promise that in every portrait session. “You can expect me to be corny and use a lot of sound effects. I may not be able to finish sentences because I’ll get tired and/or excited about something, and I will eventually end up on my stomach taking a picture of you.”

While this senior looked a lot like my friend, she was definitely her own person, and I very much enjoyed getting to know her.  Our planning session was on Google Meet, so our first in person meeting was for her actual session. Her mom and I did the dramatic slow motion run into each other’s arms after years of not seeing each other. I turned to hug the star of our day, and she very politely (but stiffly) offered me a hug in return.  Ok, I noted to myself.  Not a hugger.  I was wrong, though.  She’s a hugger, but she’s not fake. At all.  She is an intelligent, loyal, introverted, snarky, intentional, and genuine person.  If she doesn’t know you, she won’t act like it.  By the end of that hot day of several trials and errors and fantastic successes, there was no way not to know each other. I received a satisfying farewell hug before I road tripped back to Indiana.  I got a hug, and she got my respect.

This girl (the youngest of three in her family) has faced a variety of circumstances in life just like the trained dancer she is – with strength, flexibility, and grace.  For example, in the dance studio, she and her mom brought in several of her past dance costumes, which we hung on two barres creating “Memory Lane”.  As I encouraged her to feel the material and recall the choreography, she slipped into a contented daze as she fondly remembered her childhood. She carries a good bit of her carefree personality with her into her senior year, and yet there is also a seasoned poise that she embodies.  She has such a sophisticated eye for detail, style, and composure, all with a dash of zest.  Her looks ranged from “inner child” to “are you already 20?!” with just a twitch of her smile and the straightening of her back.  I didn’t know the full extent of why I saw this in her until the three of us enjoyed an air conditioned lunch in a Great Gatsby styled diner after our session.  Then the storytelling unfolded and my respect grew.  This girl has the dancer trifecta in all areas of her life. Strength. Flexibility. Grace.

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