‘Where’s your yearbook?’ I have asked hundreds of people.
Top three answers:
- In a box.
- I think… in a box.
- In a box… somewhere.
Let’s agree that most print yearbooks are currently in a box.
A few years from now, were that question asked an aging Gen Z’er, the three top answers may be:
- In my pocket.
- Sitting there on the table.
- In the toilet where I just dropped my phone.
Okay, we have established why someone may want two yearbooks. One, apparently to place in a box, the other to be accessible anywhere, anytime.
As I have mentioned multiple times, I love print yearbooks and think everyone should have one. I think there is something special about having an archival print version that you can touch and smell and read. An embarrassing reality is that I, having been in the industry for decades, haven’t seen either of my yearbooks (High School, College) since I moved into my current house… thirty-seven years ago. The good news is I know exactly where it is… in a box… in the garage… on a shelf… behind another box containing college textbooks that I have no idea why I am saving.
There are times when I want to relive those school memories, take a nostalgic trip to long ago and far away, but… it’s just too much of a hassle.
Now, if those memories were as near as the phone I just dropped in the toilet, I suspect that would relive those memories quite more often than every thirty-seven years (and counting).
And… the fact that my digital yearbook will have been updated throughout the years would be just an added bonus. Maybe in addition to watching the video of me missing the final shot in the basketball championship (we lost by one point…no one would talk to me for two days… except to call me hurtful names), I could also see updated pictures of friends whom I have forgiven for calling me hurtful names, or seeing updated pictures of the girls (now women) who wouldn’t date me. Well, I did have a number of wonderful memories from High School and it would be nice to relive them anytime I wanted.
Knowing where your yearbook is is comforting. Being able to access it is really neat.
