Have you ever wondered why yearbooks are so important? No, seriously, ponder this question for a moment. Beyond the countless “awe I looked so good” or “whoops, did I really dress like that my first year of college?” what is your motivation for looking through a school yearbook? With today’s technology, it is easy to look up an old friend through social media and communicate there, but a print yearbook is so much more than that. Yearbooks are written records of what is most relevant to students. Collective and ageless, yearbooks tell the story of the year at a specific school, reflecting on its richness and diversity. The Trinity Mirage does just that.

This school year marks the 100th anniversary of the Mirage and yearbook co-editors Katherine Freeman and Shelby DeVore couldn’t be more excited and determined to celebrate the anniversary in a very specific way.

“We are trying to show the history of the Mirage and show how it has been portrayed the last 100 years. We are including old pictures from past books, facts and interviews from professors,” Devore said.

Looking at old copies of the Mirage, it is pretty evident that the quality of the pictures and the design of the Mirage has changed drastically. The evolution of Trinity’s unique heritage is portrayed in past yearbooks that truly showcase how Trinity has grown to become a top private university for the study of liberal arts and sciences.

“I have really enjoyed looking through the “˜70s and the “˜80s. There are some really funny and interesting pictures. It’s cool to see how things have changed since then,” Devore said.

Good storytelling never gets out of style and as time comes and goes, you will always be able to look back at the memories saved in yearbooks.

That being said, what can we look forward to in this year’s Mirage? Both Freeman and Devore are exploring new ideas and twists to making this anniversary one to remember, and have done that through different event promotions ranging from a Dia de los Libros event where old pictures and old yearbooks were out, allowing the Trinity community to look through them and possibly see previews of this year’s yearbook.

Long after you’ve graduated, you will always be able to look back at the memories saved in your yearbook.

“I think many people find joy in possessing a physical copy of their memories. From photo albums, to scrapbooks, to yearbooks, holding your memories in front of you and sharing them with someone else is simply really fun. Yearbooks do a great job of grouping these memories and describing them in imagery and story, something you can’t always find or preserve online,” Freeman said.