PATASKALA, Ohio - At a time when most of us would like to hit fast forward, Sydney Walters is hitting pause.
"I just think if there's any senior class that wants to remember their senior year, it's this senior class," she said.
The 2018 Watkins Memorial graduate was home from Ohio University when she quickly realized the pandemic was impacting everyone, including her friends at her former school.
"I just started reaching out to them and I was like 'Hey, if you want to meet up, I'll take your pictures for free'," she said.
So far she's taken cap and gown pictures for five graduating seniors with one more scheduled this week.
"And she's using it as a passion rather than a way to make money, which I find amazing," Katie Bryant said.
Bryant is a 2020 Watkins Memorial grad. She didn't get to do senior service. She didn't get a senior trip.
But, Tuesday, she got cap and gown photos thanks to a friend who sees the concept of helping through a different lens.
"We can see her heart in everything that she does and being able to see her taking these photos, as you can tell, she loves it," Bryant said of Walters.
Don't be so quick to hit fast forward even through difficult times. Those are the times to offer help.
"If you're willing to give your time and your energy that speaks more volumes than your money, in my opinion," Walters said.
An idea, even for a moment, worth pausing over.
Bryant is attending Capital University in the fall to study early childhood education. Walters, aside from her photography business, attends Ohio University and is a double major in meteorology and world religions.