Sometimes you just want to get silly with your senior portrait.
We are taught at a young age to stand up and fight for what we believe in. Your cause might be taking a stand against domestic violence, putting an end to racism, or exercising your freedom of expression by publishing your crazy cats-and-lasers photo in lieu of a traditional senior portrait in the school yearbook.
Wait…what?
Nope, you didn’t read that wrong. A high school senior in Schenectady, New York, is sending around a petition to allow him to use a photo of him holding a disgruntled cat with lasers shooting behind his head as his preferred picture. It looks like something that would be perfectly at home on Awkward Family Photos and not within the pages of the yearbook (although, to be fair, it is pretty funny).
Seriously, we can’t make this stuff up.
Draven Rodriguez explains on the petition that the school hasn’t officially declined the photo, but he wants to get enough signatures so they have no room to say no. He said, “This is my photo that should be going into the yearbook, but we know how finicky the school systems can be. I’m hoping that with enough signatures, my school simply can’t turn this down.”
Rodriguez has until September 15th to turn in his photo, but according to the New York Daily News he has already surpassed his 500 signature goal by a landslide.
It looks like this glamour shot from heaven might actually make the cut.
This isn’t the first time seniors have gotten super silly with their final high school photo. Check out this hilarious Heavy article to see 20 other intentionally hilarious photos that will make you laugh out loud.
Personally, I think it would be a crime for the school to NOT let Rodriguez let his freak flag fly for his senior portrait.
Look at it like this: most of our parents spend a small fortune getting professional senior pictures done, but they’re completely dated and cheesy within a few years. Trust me on this one. My friends who have stopped by my parents’ house have all stopped in the hallway and had a good laugh over my saucy sleeveless turtleneck shirt and my blown out hair that looked really cool back in 2002. My old roommate even took a picture of it on her camera to use for blackmail later on!
My point is, maybe being in on the joke before you become an actual joke isn’t such a bad thing. No pets were harmed in the making of this prank and everyone (especially Rodriguez and his newfound national press fame) gets to laugh. Sounds like a win-win to me!
When it comes to senior photos, what is your school’s policy? Have you ever had a controversial photo that was up for debate? I’m always curious to hear how far a class clown will go for one last laugh that will, quite literally, last the rest of their life inside the pages of the yearbook.
