Logan Utah | Venture High Senior Portraits | Southeastern Idaho Photographer
Senior Celebration Spotlight • Steven
Day 1 • This lucky guy got to spend the weekend at my house! In my head, he’s around 6 years old, shorter than his younger sister, and absolutely obsessed with sharks. He could give you every measurement, diet, tooth count, fin color, and how many people that type of shark attacks each year all within seconds of looking in his direction. He came up to me one time and said, “Mikenna, what attacks more people each year, a jellyfish, a shark, or a monkey,” I may have said sharks, to which he responded, “Actually sharks have the lowest number of attacks in the year 20xx.” A few minutes into talking to Mr. Steven I thought to myself, “This kid makes me feel stupid,” not because he belittled me, or was rude by any means, but because that little brain of his held SO MUCH INFORMATION! Nowadays, he still is incredibly intelligent. He may not be talking about sharks and all their ins and outs, but he still has a gift for getting every possible piece of information there is to find about any given topic.
I love Steven today because he has a desire to learn, and a desire to seek out information- when he has a topic in mind, he is thorough and absorbs it all!
Day 2 • Recently Craig and I were talking about our different kids and their responses to a ‘surprise’ situation, those responses could be fight, flight, or freeze. We came to a conclusion about ourselves as well. I bet you can guess what Craig’s response is- yup, ‘fight,’ mine is a bit more sophisticated than that, ‘flight’ and at times, ‘freeze,’ but either way I’d rather melt into the walls than be put on the spot, or risk being embarrassed- testing anxiety was always my nemesis. Anyway, at one point we thought it’d be a good idea to wait for our kids to come down the hallway, and then Craig would unexpectedly jump out and scare them- then we could observe their reactions. Well, of course, two of our kids were ‘flights’, the last, as we guessed, put up a fight. That girl came out swinging! This little moment in time had me thinking about Steven.
This may seem like an unusual thing to share, but I love what happens when Steven is nervous or unsure of a situation he finds himself in. Some people would just shy away *ahem-that would be me,* some get irritated *that would be Miss Kenzie,* but neither of these applies to Steven. In his moment of nervousness or unfamiliarity, his defense is quoting movies. Yes, movies. He will imitate and recite lines from all kinds of movies, games, tv shows you name it, he will think of a line from it. He was great to quiz me during our little photo date, but you know what? He did great. I learned about the movies I needed to review and a few I’d never even heard of, and I think I even outsmarted him on a few! I will say Steven is always full of surprises, from the information he can share, to movies he can reenact at a moment’s notice. He will keep you guessing and I love him for it!
Day 3 • Well, Mr. Steven. Wednesday was the day you said goodbye and ‘see ya’ to grade school. You made it! Congrats on officially being a high school graduate! You’ve made many people- including your family proud. Steven is getting ready to send in his papers/application to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I think Steven can be such a force for good. He can share things he’s passionate about, and share his own personal experiences, and even struggles, I think this will help him to relate to those he comes in contact with.
Not too long ago Steven recognized a hindrance. He noticed he could ‘hear’ things being said, but for some reason, he was having a hard time understanding or formulating what those words meant. Rather than just letting it be, he researched his symptoms on his own and found the solution. In true Steven fashion, he presented his findings to his parents, appointments were made, and the solution was given. He now wears hearing aids. Not because he can’t hear sounds, but to help him translate what those sounds mean. I love that he would take the time to solve the problem. Steven’s wheels seem to be constantly turning. He can create things and loves to be thorough with those passions. Recently he has been using a 3D printer to create some neat pieces including a statue of Christ. That statue proudly sits atop his Great-Grandma’s entertainment center on display for anyone who comes to visit and she absolutely loves it!
Steven, you have such a good heart, serve with all your might regardless of your life circumstances. Never be afraid to be different, because different makes changes! I love you! Congratulations!
-Mikenna
XOXOXOXO
