Heather returned my yearbook with an expression I can't recall. A friendly smile? A smirk? What remains is her note, written in red above my photo. "My very best friend. Not very pretty, but nice." No one must see this, I thought, snapping the book closed. As classmates exchanged yearbooks, I held onto mine, wondering what inscriptions I was missing. Not "Hey, beautiful," of course, but maybe "You're funny" or "You're cool." I considered crossing out Heather's words, but then imagined a future me, someone happy in her skin, someone confident. That person would absolutely want this high school artifact.
Sari Fordham is a writer, professor, and environmental activist. She teaches at SUNY Oswego. www.sarifordham.com Instagram: @sarifordham Substack: coolitclimateaction.substack.com