#fiftywhere

LEFT PIC: 1983. O'Bannon High. 9th Grade, Mrs. Ford's Homeroom, Room 507. 14 years old. One...year...later... *in my Spongebob narrator voice* RIGHT PIC: 1984. O'Bannon High. 10th Grade, Mrs. Noble's Homeroom, Room 603. 15 years old. She was an A student. Certified band geek. Not one of the pretty ones, not one of the popular ones. Since she wasn't majorette material or cheerleader qualified or athletically able, she carved out her own niche and stuck to it: books and band. She was awesome on the alto sax 🎷 and put that GPA 📚in a vise grip. And she rode the wave 🌊 all the way out... #countdownTo50 #26days #fiftywhere #fiftyandfabulous #fiftyfine #50who #fineat50 #libraseason #authortonichevelle #thatbeme (at Swiftwater, Mississippi) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2p4ZmsFhXl/?igshid=1cdm4u9non2uq

She was 8 years old here. This was her favorite spot during the summer. She loved to swing so high that the back legs of the swing set would come up out of the ground. Here, she was a famous gymnast. An athlete. An acrobat. She was whatever and whomever she wanted to be; this was HER world. As much fun and adventure as she had on this swing set, she had trials and struggles elsewhere. But she survived. She survived bullies who thought it was funny to catch bugs and throw them on her, making her trip and fall as she ran screaming. She survived being pushed around and picked on by kids 3 times her size. She survived the undeserved and unwanted advances of a lecherous and perverted 60 year old malevolent male. And she survives still. And survive she will... #countdownTo50 #28days #fiftywhere #fiftyandfabulous #fiftyfine #libraseason #authortonichevelle #thatbeme https://www.instagram.com/p/B2ktTyJFNvZ/?igshid=1ubzrntqpfc1s