Kaylee's urban/rural senior portrait

Can you imagine leaving California in 5th grade, moving to Kansas for the next 6 years, and then moving back at the start of your senior year of high school?  Well that's what Kaylee did and all I could think of was how hard it would be to re-establish a group of friends but she just shrugged and said it wasn't a big deal.

When she got back in town she looked up her old friends from 5th grade and it turns out that they still hit it off.  I found that oddly reassuring-- that peoples' personalities don't actually change that much from elementary school to the end of high school.  

I also asked her if she found the people in California to be different from the people in Kansas and she said, "Not really."  Also reassuring.

Speaking of reassuring, Kaylee's already been admitted to one university (yay ASU!) but she's still working on more applications including her dream school: Colorado State.  

Kaylee already knows what she wants to study-- she is going to be a vet, and although Colorado State doesn't have a dedicated vet program for undergrads (most schools don't) she's already mapped out her animal sciences major.  And back when she lived in Kansas she got a ton of experience in vet clinics helping getting animals ready for surgery.  

She told me that she once put an IV into a llama!  "Umm..." I said, "How do you do that, exactly?  I mean, with all that fur, how do you even know where the veins are?"  Somewhat cryptically she said, "there are ways."  Since I am NOT a needle person, I left it at that.  

Because a love of animals is a huge element in Kaylee's life she brought one of her dogs, Dany, to her portrait session.  Dany was, at times, a reluctant doggie model but I think she did enjoy walking around the Arroyo and hanging out with us for part of the shoot.

Dany, wanting none of this.

Kaylee I can't wait to see you back for your cap & gown shoot in the spring, hopefully in a CSU shirt!  Crossing fingers for ya!