A year or so ago, I took some senior photos for the embassy community. Who could imagine a senior year that comes to an abrupt end with a virtual graduation?

I’ve slowly reopened this year for photography, keeping in mind constant new decrees regarding activity in the city, as well as my full time teaching work. (Teaching is more time consuming in a global pandemic!)

Somehow, this blog has only been updated once in the past year, but I was eagerly looking forward to a more “normal” end to the school year.

And then, last Tuesday night, plans began to change. Graduation plans. School plans. And another class of seniors in Bogota experienced a bizarre and sad (but safe at home!) end to their high school years.

I have, however, gotten to squeeze in a couple photo sessions for these kids, as well as their families. I read recently that maybe as teachers, we should focus less on praising resiliency and more on creating systems that require less resiliency. While I agree, I also think the pandemic has shown us the character of our kids (and ourselves) in very clear ways… And I hope these young adults never need to be this resilient again!

Enjoy these photos, taken in Usaquen, Bogota, Colombia, for a graduating senior. Congrats class of 2021, even if you only got to walk 10 at a time!