“So I Just Write Something Here and It Goes in the Yearbook?”

Who doesn’t enjoy good memories?

Memories aren’t just for grandparents or parents with, shall we say, a little experience. We didn’t have a camcorder back in the day when my oldest daughter turned one, so I borrowed one. Checking out that joyous birthday party on home video now (I know, I should transfer it to a digital file) never fails to make the family laugh and remember when life was less hectic. Or so it seems now, anyway.

Like any young dad, I’ve collected videos, photos, newspaper clippings, sports certificates, trophies and much more. Some call it hoarding. I call them cherished memories, and besides, my wife and I have donated, handed down or thrown away loads of clothes, toys and books.

One thing I hope my kids never get rid of is their yearbooks. A couple of years after high school, I foolishly threw away a lot of stuff that I later regretted, including my senior yearbook. Dumb and dumber. Yearbooks are even more valuable than ever today, especially for Facebook-friending old high-school buddies and budettes (although sometimes you wish you hadn’t).

I advise all dads, especially ones just cracking out of the egg shell, to hoard their kids’ yearbooks. Even the elementary-school tomes, which bend and tear over time and should be covered with protective sleeves. Yearbooks are cheap those first years, so enjoy that while it lasts.

My  sophomore just brought home her 2011 yearbook. It’s an expensive, heavy beast, but worth every buck, even though it cost way more than half a Benjamin. The cover is really cool, with a raised impression of a shoe on sand.

The theme of this year’s book is Your Impression. Congrats to yearbook advisor Ray Johnson, editor Michelle Cheng and the entire staff for a colorful book crammed with memories.

The best part of any yearbook, after reading what other kids write (“HAGS”—Have a good summer” in elementary; sweet musings, rude comments, and thinly veiled come-ons later on) and checking out my kid’s pictures, is what seniors choose as quotes to put under their air-brushed pictures.

They can tell you a lot about someone. Some quotes are serious. Some heartfelt. Some are inside jokes. Some just plain funny.

Here are a few I enjoyed, and I hope you do, too. They are from books, movies, songs, poets. Others are made up, I think. I am only including the quote here:

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

“The present moment is the only moment that’s real.”

“A lot of good arguments are spoiled by some fool who knows what he is talking about.”

“Don’t settle for style. Succeed in substance.”

“Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.”

“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”

“A ship is safe in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for.”

“Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.”

“Let’s make the naughtiest nachos.”

“The enemy of creativity is self-doubt.”

“Choose life, not survival.”

“Don’t worry about the world ending today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia.”

“Don’t ever compromise yourself. You’re all you’ve got.”

“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.”

“Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.”

“So I just write something here and it goes in the yearbook?”