1. Have a great summer!
2. Keep in touch.
3. Never change.

FYI, these were at the bottom of the list:

98. Your isosceles triangles were awesome!
99. Keep living the dream of becoming a librarian.
100. Sorry I ran over your feet.

Unwritten Rules
Yearbooks are just one special part of the school year’s end—pages of embarrassing candid photos, the senior picture that was taken so early in the year that you look totally different now and those awards like, “Most Likely to Succeed,” “Best Couple” or “Shyest.” I was voted “Most Likely to Be Attacked By a Coyote.”

By the way, there are some definite rules to follow when signing yearbooks:

• DO NOT stand over a person’s shoulder while they sign your yearbook. It’s bad manners—just like playing your tuba in a movie theater.

• No snooping on the other pages to see what everyone else wrote.

• Girls, don’t call a guy “sweet” or “nice.” We all know this is girlspeak for “I don’t like you.”

• Always say something positive. If you have no ideas, share your faith or at least use No. 98 above.

• No cramming. Find enough space or the person won’t be able to read what you wrote. (e.g., Patrick—You’re so sweet and nice, and I will alwersz thirk of lerborgstin gluck . . .)

• No crayon, paw prints or artwork that includes cheetahs.

So Much to Say
The guys’ and girls’ approach to signing yearbooks is definitely different. When a guy signs a yearbook, he grabs a pen and writes a few lines. But girls, have you ever noticed that your writing isn’t just the alphabet? Most girls have to add loops, circles, flowers or hearts over their i’s, smiley faces throughout and a combination of all the above next to their name. Oh, and there’s probably a picture drawn somewhere and two or three acronyms (ttyl [talk to you later], lol [laugh out loud], ilu [I love you], ihalpimc [I have a live penguin in my car]).

Girls are great at coming up with stuff to write, too. They can take up a whole yearbook page. Most guys start struggling after “Hey” unless they’re writing to a good friend. It’s even worse if it’s a guy writing to a guy. I used to feel guilty if I didn’t write enough, and it was even harder if I didn’t know the person really well. Half the time my entries sounded more like gibberish:

Hey, sure was great having you five rows away from me in history class.
Hey, don’t forget to never forget that always remembering these years is all about not forgetting the times that we need to remember.
And uh . . . oh, the bell rang, and I just spilled some juice. “Don’t stop rockin.’ ”—Patrick

Do savor your end of the school year—especially if you’re a senior. It’s a great time to thank God for the friends He’s given you. And have a great summer, keep in touch and take time to appreciate these moments worth appreciating as you look back on moments to look back on and appreciate them all as you take some time. BFF.