Many can relate childhood to a balloon. Full of air and freely flying in the wind, childhood is light and care free. No commitment is involved and children are not bound to worries. They simply are encouraged to soar high like a balloon but are still tied to something as to not get too high. Dangers lie ahead if the balloon is let go. Once it pops or slowly loses air; childhood is gone. The next stage of growing up occurs bringing on a whole new way of living. Hard work and responsibilities build up while innocence and hand holding dwindle down. Recent high school graduates might or might not know that when they throw their caps in the air it is time for their balloon of childhood to pop (slide 2). By focusing on the lighting, symbols, and movement of the visual text viewers are able to grasp the message that the path of life after graduation brings uncertainty.

To start off, the visual text holds an array of symbols in each picture. Symbols allow for viewers to have creativity and form their own thoughts and ideas. An unkempt field, when first looked at is wild and natural. Vines and grass are free to grow and let loose. Nature takes over and fills every bare space (slide 2). This symbolizes a life of no commitment and full of adventures. After high school graduation most students are let go from being under their parents’ roofs. This allows for less rules and more freedom to create a life of their own. Some may take advantage of the opportunity and live “on the wild side”, making each day a surprise with no daily routine to follow. Another bold symbol are the two sets of footprints sand (slide 8). The footprints represent the love and support of others. In life it helps to have people available when someone is feeling down or lonely. Knowing there are others that cheering and guiding can help one out during rough times or even happy times in life. Graduates whether they are ready or not come to the time where they move on to a whole change of lifestyle. Some move far away and forced to handle the events life throw at them without their normal surroundings. This can get lonely and difficult causing moments of depression and giving up. It is the people that come to support that help these students get out of their lonely hole. At certain moments it is always better to have two sets of footprints than one.

Lighting in a visual text is crucial when interpreting. Illustrators carefully place lighting in a way to form a message in their art. For example, a sunset in a background brings feelings of warmth and beauty (slide 4). The bright colors slowly fading allows for emotional appeal. There is always darkness around the edges of a sunset that shows the viewer there is are times of light and there are times of darkness. Having made it through high school, a graduate may already realize this but the should take time to appreciate that there will always be a time when the darkness creeps in but that does not mean there will not be another beautiful sunset again tomorrow. Another statement of light comes from slide eight showing the brightness at the end of a tunnel. The viewer is first drawn directly in to the blinding light but when the eyes adjust they notice the vacant and black tunnel is what leads to this light. There is a lesson hidden in this form of lighting that sometimes is takes a great deal of strength to plow through a difficult time before getting to a content place in life. People often tell graduates that they have to start back at the bottom of being a freshman again in college or the intern at new job before that rising power of seniority or experience settles in. The dark tunnel can be scary of starting over again but there should be hope that at the end there is light.

Last, art and visuals always are done with a form of movement in mind that guide the viewer across the work. The paths in most of the pictures are a perfect way to do this while also holding a message. Slide fives have many paths but the viewer’s eye starts with the girl at the beginning and then is taken all over the piece in multiple directions. The illustrator here is conveying the options one has when trying to figure out their next step in life. To recent grad this idea is constantly throbbing in the back of their head while they think about all the possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead. There is so much to choose from and everything requires a decision to make. Colleges, clubs, and careers are just a start to all of the options graduates have to make up their mind about and the path they choose will direct them to their future. To continue, a forward form of movement can start with a point of emphasis. The girl in slide ten is what viewers first see in the visual. She appears to come to the end of road and is about to fall off a cliff. Along with the abrupt emphasis comes with the question to high school graduates of whether or not they are ready for the ride ahead. There comes a time when a leap off a cliff and some trust is what’s needed in order for success.

All in all, each slide goes along with the message that the path after graduation bring uncertainty. Symbols of nature are used to show what kind of lifestyle to live and footprints are used to show that everyone needs support during times. Lighting is carefully considered when relaying a message that light and darkness always come up but neither is permanent. This is shown through a sunset and a tunnel. Movement is used to interpret the visuals showing the many choices after high school and if one is ready to take that leap. To end, when that childhood balloon pops and those caps are thrown in the air, it is the beginning of a whole new adventure.
