Semper Et Ubique Fidelis

It’s that time of year again when senior high school students are preparing for their senior prom and graduation; such an exciting and momentous occasion in their lives. Oddly enough I don’t remember many of the details of my own high school grad, after all, it was only 31 years ago…yikes, where did that time go?

Flash back to 1992…the Toronto Blue Jays were World Series Champions, Sir Mix-A-Lot was on top of the music charts with “Baby Got Back” and Bill Clinton was Time magazine’s Man of the Year.

Thirty plus years ago a bunch of teenage girls around the bay were busy flicking through magazines and catalogs trying to decide what their dress would look like, what colour it would be, how they would style their hair, who would be their date. This was the graduating class of St. Clare’s High School 1992! Yes, we were thinking about other serious matters like getting through public exams and what we were going to do next now that we were leaving the place most of us called home for the last six years, but mostly graduation chatter echoed through the hallways. I remember starting off grade 7 at a brand new school in Carbonear; all new teachers, more work, new friends and NO BOYS – St. Clare’s all girls Catholic school. Did I mention the nuns?

31 years!!! I still can’t believe it’s been that long. Usually once you leave high school many of the friends you made often fade into the background and become a sweet memory or a “remember when” story.

Thankfully I can say that my friend circle still keeps in touch to some degree, although life keeps us from getting together way less than what we’d probably like. When we do manage to meet up it’s like no time has passed and one thing’s for certain there will be lots of laughs and reminiscing. A while back a few of us met up at a coffee shop downtown. I was sure we were going to get kicked out because of the racket we were making. I guess all those years of being taught about grace and poise by the nuns were all for naught as we were worse than a bunch of drunken sailors. Good thing we were sipping coffee and nothing stronger.

All jokes aside, junior high and high school was a pretty great experience for me. Although I wish I had the knowledge and fortitude back then as I do now because even without all the social media pressures all those years ago it could still be a struggle navigating the waters of adolescence. If I could go back and talk to 17 year old me I’d tell her that she’s not the only one struggling with self image. Every single person has something they don’t like about themselves whether it be their physical appearance, wishing they could get higher grades, or being able to get up in front of a crowd and perform; we all have periods of self doubt. The important thing is relying on good friends to help you through because let me tell ya, they’re struggling in some way too! If someone has a problem with how you look, dress, communicate or associate then the problem is with them NOT you. You don’t have to conform to some standard created by what others think “perfection” is because there’s no such thing. You be you. It took having a child of my own who marches to the beat of her own drum and could care less what others think of her to realize that. I wish I could’ve been more like that when I was younger. I’d also tell 17 year old me to cherish every single minute of life because it passes you by in a blink, and take pictures of EVERYTHING! I guess the ultimate goal of surviving high school is to surround yourself with people who accept you for who are and what you stand for.

Here are a few snaps of my big day back in 1992 and FYI I rocked the pearls way before Siobhán Coady did! 😉

Like I said earlier, time does fly by and last year a few of us decided to get together in Brigus for a weekend to celebrate 30 years. Here’s a brief summary – food, booze, music, laughter, stories, reminiscing, games and more food. It was a wonderful time. Let’s not wait another thirty years.

Below is a collection of photos I managed to scrounge from different sources. I put them together into a short video. There’s also music so turn up your sound. Take a look!

In honour of the senior class of 2023 here a few graduates I had the pleasure of photographing over the last few years. Each of these young ladies graduated high school and have already begun to carve out their own paths. I can’t wait to see what they do next. They are the future and it looks pretty bright!

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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Congratulations to all graduates past, present and future!

Until Next Time,

Andrea