It’s the end of the year, and you have to decide whether to buy a yearbook. What should you do?
Yearbooks are a staple of high school where you can look back on your accomplishments, achievements, and see what you looked like on picture day. But there are many reasons to pass on these books as a freshman, sophomore or junior.
While these books are good to remember what may have been forgotten memories, the space between the yearbook’s release and the next school year is only a few months. A few months doesn’t change much in terms of looks or personality. Yearbooks are best to have to look back on far after you have graduated, after you look different, and have forgotten these cherished high school moments.
Price is another factor, with yearbooks nearing $70, and if you get one every year, that’s $280. That’s a pretty penny to pay for four similar books with only slightly different variations of yourself. “Yearbooks are pretty expensive,” freshman Logan Simmons said. “The price is a little too high for a book.”
Once the yearbooks are released, it’s a tradition to have people sign it, but once you leave high school, these signatures mean nothing unless you really know them. Asking for a stranger’s signature will probably be the last time you ever speak them.
In the moment, yearbooks are a fun way to connect with your friends and remember all the fun you’ve had this year, but once the school year ends, the yearbook will most likely go on a shelf or in a drawer not to be touched for a long time, maybe even never. There’s no need for a book that just takes up space a week after buying it.
Some view yearbooks as a kind of directory for the future, a way to remember former classmates and what they looked like back in high school. But it’s unreasonable to buy a yearbook every year for this reason since your class barely changes every year. “While yearbooks are fun, it’s really unnecessary to get one every year, since they’re very similar every year,” Simmons said.
Unless you went to every school event and were in all of the pictures, there’s a high chance you will only make a brief appearance in the yearbook. The question “where am I?” is commonly asked when yearbook season rolls around. If you aren’t involved in school events, sports, and clubs, it’s difficult to make a yearbook appearance.
To save money, it is best if you wait until your senior year to purchase a yearbook. That way, you can still cherish your high school memories, without spending a fortune.
But if you don’t want a yearbook at all, you can just friend your old classmates on Facebook and all is well.
