This is actually a belated birthday post, not a Valentine’s Day post, but the sentiment is the same.

When first I saw Tagxedo, I thought what a wonderful gift could be made for a teenager or adolescent.  This thought kept coming back to me as Iain’s 12th birthday approached.  He’s entering into a time of upheaval.  Of pulling away from all that is comfortable and known to him in order to figure out who he is and who he wants to be.  I say “he”, but I’m speaking in general of all children in this season of life.  There is only so far that parents and loved ones can go on this journey being outside of it as we are.  It’s a private voyage to the discovery of self.  We can provide charts, antidotes and advice, but the trip is theirs to make of it what they will.

It is a time of questioning everything, but often one of the questions that comes up most is one of self-worth.  For so many children it’s such a time of uncertainty, lack of confidence and sadly, feelings of worthlessness.  What a powerful thing to put their attributes into words.  A making up of who they are.  All of the things that form them.  It’s not for us to define, truly.  But lovingly sharing the beauty that we see in them?  Even if they ultimately see themselves in an entirely different way, it must be encouraging and heartening to know that we see good in them.

And so, I asked of our friends and family to send me any words or phrases that make them think of Iain.  If could be something he loves or something about him.  The response was both astounding and humbling, as his parents, knowing that this once tiny child that we brought into the world has had such an impact on those around him.

I used this photo of him to create the word cloud.  I took it, trying to keep the lines as clear and clean as possible, with that intention.  Currently Taxedo is still in beta and all of the “pro” features are available for free, including the ability to work from your own photo (there will be a fee for this after the beta period).  You can create your own word clouds here.

You can see a close up of Iain’s word cloud here.  I saved it as a jpeg and had it printed and framed before gifting.