Puzzles. They are such a big part of our lives, though they collect dust on our shelves. Life itself is its own puzzle, with so many aspects to it. People, for example, are very complex puzzles, each with their own nuances and differences, sometimes difficult to read and difficult to piece together.
Each member of Orange Lutheran’s yearbook team are pieces of a puzzle, each vital to the yearbook’s completion, and each connecting with and working together with one another to make a beautiful product.
That being said, each member of the yearbook staff has a unique role to play, much like each piece of the puzzle is always slightly different from one another. There are editors, staff writers, and photographers, and although each of them participate in different activities, their combined efforts make the yearbook what it is. The staff writers fill the pages; they collect quotes, design features, and write captions with the help of their assigned photographers, who take and gather the photos needed by the staff writers to put on the page. The editors, with the help of Mrs. Abijay, who has been the yearbook advisor for over 20 years, manage all the staff writers and photographers whilst still having their own personal responsibilities.
Yearbook is different from other classes at Orange Lutheran because of its uniqueness and practicality. Oftentimes, people don’t realize that yearbook, unlike other classes, teaches you important life skills that you will use in the workplace and in life in general. Among many other things, yearbook teaches you skills in interviewing, journalism, graphic design, photography, Photoshop, deadlines, project management, and working with others. The yearbook itself doesn’t come together in one day—much like the people who create it, it evolves and shifts, always changing, always improving, much like a project in the workplace.
But what makes Orange Lutheran’s Yearbook class so special, so unique, and so incredible, is not just the skills and lessons it teaches you, but the community. Over many years, an environment has been cultivated in that room that makes you feel like you are a part of something bigger than yourself—that you are a puzzle piece that fits right into the puzzle. There is pressure, of course, to meet deadlines, but there are always the resources to get you through those struggles and people to guide you—editors, fellow staff members, and most importantly, our wonderful yearbook advisor.
So if you are feeling like you are a piece of the puzzle and don’t know where you fit, come join Yearbook; and even if you have found your place, try it. It just might surprise you.
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Photo Credit: Ella Wakeling
