High School Yearbooks and Showing off too much, too early

By now, everyone has heard of the story regarding 18-year old Sydney Spies, a Senior at Durango High School.  Sydney wanted the High School Yearbook to use a provocative picture of her as her Senior Picture.  The picture was of her wearing a white mini-skirt and a black shawl that only covered her upper chest area.  The Yearbook and School refused to put the picture in the yearbook, and now Sydney and her family are suing the school claiming that their rights were violated.  Sydney claims that the picture is consistent with her desire to be a model when she graduates and was meant to show her beauty.  Most people, however, disagree with that line of thinking and believe the picture make her look more like a stripper.

Long before I met my wife, I attended South Gwinnett High School, where my class was full of beautiful young ladies who were even more beautiful than Ms. Spies.  In fact, 3 of my classmates won Miss South, which I’m sure has not been done before and hasn’t been since.  But I don’t remember any of them dressing provocatively in their Senior Year pictures.  Come to think of it, I don’t remember any of them dressing that provocatively in school.  They looked great in prom pictures, in school pictures, and even when they were dressed modestly or casually.  These were the kind of ladies you could take to mom and dad, go on a fun date, or just watch a movie with.  They had great restraint, because many of them wanted to be known for more than just good looks.  Many have grown up and gone on to be successful outside of High School in various ways.

Single young guys probably see the pictures of young Ms. Spies and probably think of the Rick James song, “Super Freak”.  You know, “She’s a very kinky girl, The kind you don’t take home to Momma…”.  Ms. Spies comes from a new generation of ladies who prefer to show off their bodies instead of being modest.  Many of these new generation of young ladies are willing to wear Victoria Secret’s pants that have the word “Pink” labeled across the buttocks or some other word that would give the impression they want to get intimate immediately.  They dress way beyond their years and more often than not find their way into trouble with teenage boys, or in some situations, older men.  These men are less interested in marrying these kind of young ladies and more interested in one-night stands.  The inability to show modesty or restraint is going to lead to problems for many of these young women.

Ms. Spies appears to be heading down a dark path that will lead only to a life of ruin.  It’s not too late to turn it around, but if she doesn’t do it soon, I’m afraid she will become another sad story of a teenage “beauty” who ends up as an example of what can go wrong when you try to draw attention to yourself with your body too early in life.  It’s a shame they will never learn the examples that many of my female classmates at South lived.