"What's your quote for the yearbook?" I've lost count on how often I've heard this question, but the answer is always the same: I don't know. I never thought this question would torment me so much, its just a quote. But as a senior, you start to realize that this one quote is what we will look back on. It can't just be something like: "Twerk."-Miley Cyrus or "Believe."-Justin Beiber. So what exactly makes a quote good enough to be in the yearbook? What makes it awful? An example of a good quote would be the wise words of Gandhi, "Be the change you want to see in the world". This quote is meaningful but is often misused by teenagers. I can guarantee you that half of the seniors that use this quote don't live by it. They don't change the world but conform to its standards. Sure, it isn't a big deal if you don't change the world but why try to put a quote that isn't who you are? This is the problem with yearbook quotes, everyone puts a quote that they WISH explains who they are. Its like when people say they love everyone but don't really like anyone. They pretend to be something they're not. It's so typical from teenagers who don't know who they are or are defined by their group of friends in high school. They use quotes like "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." yet they have a clique in which they are all exactly the same. Take your typical white girl, for example. They all have the same Hollister jeans, Uggs, stick straight hair, and a face caked with makeup yet they are so different! Or your gothic, emo, scene teenage girl, that feels like she doesn't fit in, yet there are twenty more girls in school with the same black clothes, black lipstick, and purple hair. You are a type, a clique, you are not yourself. Please don't use that quote. As a teenager, it's hard to stay true to yourself. I think that concept is what makes this picking of quotes symbolic. Are you typical and choose a Mean Girls quote? Do you know who you are, what defines you? If you could put yourself in a quote, what would it be? Your quote should be words that you live by. It should be something that inspires you to be a better person. It should be something that shows the type of person you really are. You shouldn't pick a quote because it 'sounds fancy' or 'makes me look like a good person'. Do you know how many people mistakenly quote Marilyn Monroe as if she was some goddess?? Yes, she was beautiful and talented but she was a sex symbol who overdosed on cocaine. The people you quote should be inspirational and their words should inspire you. That quote should be something you could look back on when you feel lost and be inspired just like seventeen year old you was inspired.
