One mother's disappointment with her kindergartner's school photo turned into a lesson about acceptance after the picture became a viral sensation.
Andriel Miles, a 25-year-old Georgia mother, was taken aback when she took a look at her son's school pictures. The shot features 5-year-old Andrew Miles with his mouth agape, appearing to be in mid-roar.
"I just screamed. I was like, 'Oh, my,'" Miles told WMAZ. "I asked him if anyone asked him to make that face. He said, 'No, I just made it.'"
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Andrew, who Andriel described as having a "huge personality," took the photo a week prior at Woodland Elementary School in Atlanta.
Initially, Andriel admitted she was upset and took to her Facebook to express her disappointment. On March 10, she uploaded the photo with the caption, "I'm so mad right now! I checked my [son's] book bag and [found] these!!!"
She also expressed her disappointment with the photography company, Lifetouch School Photography.
"I know they train their photographers better than that," she wrote. "They dropped the ball idc what anybody says."
A representative for the photography company said company policy allows children the freedom of expression, reports WLWT. Andrew supported this statement and said his photographer did offer some suggestions.
"They turned my face, they propped my hands," Andrew said about his experience with the photography crew. "They had combs, they had mirrors, they had everything for us."
Eventually, his mother's anger subsided after floods of heartwarming and loving comments were left underneath the viral photo. In under a week, Andrew's photo had accumulated over 40,000 shares, 33,000 comments and 56,000 reactions.
"They opened my eyes to see that everything doesn’t need to be cookie cutter,” Andriel said. “Being yourself is even more amazing! Knowing that his silly picture brought joy all over the world, how can I continue to be flustered?”
She said she now views the image through a new lens.
"Everyone is just embracing the photo and loving the photo," she continued. "That one photo showed all of his personality: how sweet he is, how loving he is."
Miles says she now plans to purchase the photos for her memory books, but she will request her son participate in retakes when they're available.
Andrew, however, says he plans to use his first-grade photo as another chance to express himself next year.
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