Time to check back in with my favorite 2018 high school graduate Saydie.

Thought I would start with more of my favorite bits of wisdom given at commencement speech:

Success is like a mountain that keeps growing ahead of you as you hike it… Err in the direction of kindness.
-George Saunders

People should always err in the direction of kindness. Wish I saw more of that in my everyday life.

Saydie:

We’re at the point in the Saydie pictures that we are warmed up. Giving the umpire the signal that we are ready to play ball.

It is time for lap 2 in the Congratulations Saydie marathon. But before we get into the photo bonanza, I want to take a small quick time to take umbrage with one of the responses I received to the last batch of Saydie images. They pulled out the part of the entry where I referred to Saydie as my niece and held it up to mockery, since we share not a scrap of DNA or would share part of a family tree through marriage.

This person feels that the only nieces and nephews I have are my biological nieces in nephews and the children of Olivia’s brother and sisters.

My reaction to their commentary is just pure sadness. I hope they don’t go through life with this stilted definition of the word “family”.

The New York Times ran an articles and asked high school students to define family. I just want to share two:

Caitlin

I do not think there is such thing as a “normal family” because everyone’s lifestyle is different, and it would be a stereotype to say that all normal families have a Mom, a Dad and kids or a pet. That is not true. Some people choose a different choice. There are kids with two moms, or two dads, and with one mom or one dad. There are also plenty of kids who live with a close relative as well. Family are the people you feel safe and secure with. Everyone’s family is normal to them, because that is how they live their life. So be proud of your family, and don’t classify one family as normal.

AND

Taylor

I define a family as a group of people who share laughter, sadness, tragedy, victory, loss, regret, happiness, and success together. A family is hard to define. Most commonly one thinks a man, a woman, and their children. Time has shown this isn’t an exact answer. Grandparents, adopted parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and even just friends can make up a family. Family is important for individuals to lead happy lifestyles and to become satisfied with their life.

I just hope that the commentator opens their heart some day. Maybe if they owned a dog…

Here are a ton more pictures of my niece Saydie:

There will be a ton more pictures from Saydie’s senior pictures photo shoot in the coming weeks!

I’d just like to wish a full and hearty congratulations to all the Class of 2018 on their recent accomplishment of graduating from high school.

I obviously don’t have any wise words about their future, but I can Google and find somebody that something wise once with the best of them!

“But my dear graduates, let me be frank, the best years are very much ahead of you. And they can be whatever you want them to be… As much as you’ve changed during your time here, more change is coming. You’re going to continue to evolve in unforeseen ways. You are full of complexities and wonders that haven’t even begun to surface. Life’s unpredictability will draw these out and what defines you now will be mere shades and hues of a more vibrant you over the next five, 10, 50 years. Honestly, I can’t think of anything more liberating than that, knowing that life will look differently than you think it will.”
– Octavia Spencer

But if there is one person whose accomplishments I most want to lift up and whose future adventures I’m most interested in now that her high school career as come to an end, it is my niece Saydie.

I celebrate Saydie’s accomlishments and look to her future by sharing some (a ton) of pictures from her Senior Picture Photo Shoot from last summer:

You may recall my fondness for pictures that aren’t posed. Yes, those are my favorites in this collection and every collection.

Don’t worry, there are plenty of other Saydie pictures coming in the coming weeks. We aren’t even warmed up. We are warming up to get warmed up!