Lance

Lance.
Lance has always been one of my absolute favorite students. He has a charisma and maturity to him while still maintining his ability to be a kid. He is impossible to miss by just his sheer size alone, he’s got to be at least 6’4 with a big teddy bear build, amazing red hair, eyes the blue of an early morning hawaiin sky, freckles till Tuesday and a smile that lights up the whole world. He is just about always smiling and generous with the hugs. Everywhere I go at school, there he is – I couldn’t avoid him if I tried. He sings in choir, acts and sings in drama, can dance and fly (yes, I’ve seen him fly, gave me a fricken heart attack, see my post about the senior photos for that story), plays cello, drums in a rock band, juggles (can juggle apples while alternately eating one – how cool is that), plays basketball, volleyball and God knows what else. In the fall when I was taking the formal senior portraits I could see right away how photogrenic he is and we discussed doing some portfolio photos for him. Out of the kindness of his heart he has endured his grandmothers criticism while growing out that amazing firey locks at my request. I was psyched to get his photos today so it was with great sadness that I learned that he was having a really really really bad day. But even with the weight of a thousand worlds on his shoulders and a huge black rain cloud over his head he still managed to give me the most amazing smiles and photos that are blowing my mind. The reason for his bad day and his ability to deal with it with such maturity and class is haunting me. I have a very heavy heart as I edit these photos.