mixed.

As I look at my Senior pictures, I'll share the ones I especially like. 
I really, seriously like this one. I like how this is my real smile. You see the nose wrinkle. You see the infamous snagle tooth. Also how my eyes get lost. Flaws. But fully me. 
Let me tell you a story about that lake behind me:


No. That is not Lake Michigan, though Lake Michigan is a mere mile from my house, this is O'Neal Lake. What? Never heard of it. I didn't think so. This lake is about a mile from my house in the opposite direction as Lake Michigan. O'Neal Lake holds many special things for me personally, and my family.
O'Neal Lake was named after my Grandma's family. My Grandma on my Daddy's side. Her name is Leona O'Neal Byard. Yes. I'm Irish. And Native American, actually, in case you were wondering. When my Grandma's family originally moved here years and years and years ago they owned a lot of land. O'Neal Lake being part of it. 
What with our family connection to the Lake I've spent a lot of time there. There are trails to hike, and sand dunes to climb. I've released baby turtles that were found on nearby roads there, and I'm sure some of the turtles I see now are those babies all grown up. One of my fondest memories of O'Neal Lake was when I was in around 5th grade and my youngest sister was having a speech therapist come to our house for therapy sessions. The therapist didn't really seem to like having the hustle and bustle of Scar and I being there so my Daddy took us down to O'Neal Lake with a row boat. I remember going all around the Lake, doing nothing at all. Just being there. It was fun, and I wish I could do it again. 
It's memories like those that make me happy and sad all at the same time. Happy that I got to have the experience, but sad because it will never happen again.