So What makes a Badass Senior Portrait? Let me explain.
I’m always preaching about owning your own “weird”, and being the best human you can be. Because to me… that is what being badass means. In my humble opinion… being authentic to who you are is one of the most beautiful traits you can have.
In today’s society, being authentically you can be tough. There are so many prejudices. An abundance of close-minded people who would rather judge a person, rather than truly get to know them for who they are; on the inside.
It takes one strong person these days to be able to withstand the opinions of others and just be who they are. And I mean… wholeheartedly who they are!
I had the honor of working with a BADASS senior gal named Grace. She came up from Texas on vacation with her family and decided to have her senior portraits taken. I’ll tell you what… I’m so effin’ honored that she chose me to photograph her truly badass, beautiful self.
Webster’s Definition of Beauty
According to Webster’s Dictionary- the definition of beauty: the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit: LOVELINESS
My Definition of Beauty
Grace.
When I say, Grace… I’m referring to one of the most amazing humans I’ve had the honor of working with.
Now we can all agree, that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. And this Girl has it all. Beauty, Brains and genuine authenticity that many should be envious of. (I know I am! LOL) Grace is an inspiration.
What exactly do I mean by “badass”? Well.. it doesn’t mean biker chicks who have been arrested or being bitchy to others just to make yourself look “cool”. Nope. My version of BADASS is this: Love yourself and own who you are. If you’ve been in trouble but can own up to making a mistake… now that’s badass! If you failed at something, only to keep trying harder… that’s badass! If you’ve stood by a friend through thick and thin… that’s BADASS. If you are able to stay true to your own convictions and be authentically you… that’s BADASS!
In my eyes… Being badass just means being the best version of yourself. It means making mistakes and learning from them. It means owning (and loving) who you are, faults and all!
I’ll admit… that is something that I’ve struggled with in the past. (hell- I still do!) I tend to be too hard on myself. And that is one reason why I LOVED working with Grace. I have to admit- I learned a lot from Grace, and although our time together was short… She made such a lasting impression on me.
GRACE, YOU ARE AWESOME!!!
Meet Grace- one Incredible human!
For Grace’s senior portraits, we focused on her, just being her.
So why don’t you read on… learn more about Grace and look to see some of her senior portraits!
Learn more about Grace!!
College plans? If so- what is your first choice school?
I definitely plan on going to college I’m not quite sure where. I’d love to go to rice but I’m not sure if I’ll get in. My other options are A&M and maybe The University of Houston.
What do you plan on majoring in? Why?
I plan on majoring in engineering. Within that I want to either go into electrical engineering or computer science which is coding. I love engineering and I have an internship at Lockheed Martian – an international engineering firm – my senior year of high school.
Tell us about your Hobbies!
I am the captain of my robotics team at my school and am the head coder. We compete against other schools in different challenges through an organization called first robotics and we participate in the first tech challenge. I am also in key club which is an international service organization that focuses on helping out communities and building leaders in students of which I am the Vice President. I also love the theatre where I act on stage for school and help do lights and sound backstage.
What are some accomplishments you are proud of? (Sports, academic, extracurricular, family etc)
I am very proud of my internship it’s quite exciting along with my leadership positions in my hobbies.
I am very proud of my robotics team – it’s four girls me Kyra (the girl with me) and two wonderful individuals Cora and Elizabeth. We have come so far! We started the robotics program at our school so we are still getting our footing, but I’m still proud of us.
More about robotics because we started the program I had to teach myself almost entirely how to code. I had some help from some cool people but I’m proud of how far I’ve come. And I’m also glad I’ve learned how to become and be a better leader. I definitely learned the hard way but the whole process changed me and I really learned that you don’t manage people you lead people (as my quote states) and while it was hard, it’s a big personal accomplishment in my character building journey.
What are you going to miss most about High School?
Not much. I’ll probably miss my robotics team and key club but key club continues in college and adulthood through circle K and Kiwanis – the adult origination that supports all the other k family organizations. Otherwise, I’m pretty happy to get out and I haven’t even gone through my senior year.
What are you looking forward to most after graduation?
I am a very independent person and I’m looking forward to being responsible for myself. While I am looking forward to college I’m looking forward to facing the challenges adulthood has for me and seeing who I become as I mature and make decisions for myself.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I’m really not sure. I’d love to make a plan for myself as I mature but I know I can’t account for anything that will actually happen so who knows. I could wind up getting my doctorate, and in another state working for an engineering firm. I could be working with Lockheed still trying to work my way up the chain. or Perhaps, I will be in a completely different profession somewhere I never planned to be and that’s fantastic. I really just hope I’m content with where my life is going and who I have surrounded myself with because friends are huge to me and I want them to be well awesome. I hope they are honest and strong and just genuine people and I’ll be fine.
Do you have any favorite quotes?
Grace Hopper is a computer scientist/navy seal I did a research project on in physics class and she was a wonderful person and a majority of my favorite quotes come from her. Some of these include:
“you don’t manage people you manage things you lead people”
Grace Hopper
“no computer is ever going to ask a new reasonable question. It takes trained people to do that”
Grace Hopper
“Humans are allergic to change they always say “we’ve always done it this way” I try to fight that. That’s why I have a clock that runs counter-clockwise”
Grace Hopper
Anything else you would like to share that is interesting, funny, etc?
Well, to elaborate on my ring. It is a fairly big part of me. It is a pride ring symbolizing that I am asexual.
For people who don’t know asexuality or being ace for short is when you do not experience sexual attraction. Many aces still are in romantic relationships or have partners they just are not sexually attracted to people.
Over 1% of the population is asexual. Not a lot of people know about it. It’s as much a part of me as it is to people who are gay. and I’d like to spread awareness as much as I can.
Shout out to Kyra… Grace’s friend
Also, Kyra is awesome and she is the biggest flower child. While we were in Vermont she memorized all the local flowers. Also a shoutout to her carrying everything and squatting with the flash. Also, she loved that cow so much and she’s one of the best people I know.
Never Change
These Senior portraits are probably some of my most favorites! Why? Because Grace is just that awesome! Seriously… never change!!
