I recently took an interesting challenge to write about myself at fifteen and then as I am today.
When I was fifteen:
· I loved the walk through the woods to school, often leaving early so I could meander my way and take in the happenings of nature by seasons.
· I liked to sing in the country church choir, made up of whoever wanted to join in on that particular Sunday, led by a willing but untrained leader. I wandered between alto and soprano, not quite fitting in either place.
· I was enraptured with the Sue Barton, Student Nurse book series and quite sure I would pursue a nursing career as she had done.
· I adored those teachers who gave their tests in essay questions. If I knew even a tad about the answer, I loved to spin a story.
· I was an uncomfortable nerd – inept at sports and unimpressed with Elvis, the latest fashions, or even the local gossip. You see, there was always some book calling me away to finish.
Now
· I love our recent move to the country with its walks that may turn up new blooming weeds, a flock of robins in migration, or a squirrel peeling the bark off a dead tree limb.
· I like to sing in our church choir that has a real director, a voice professor at the University of Southern Mississippi who knows what he is doing, with choir members who gather at 8:30 on Sunday mornings to practice. Thankfully, I had Mrs. Doxey in high school Glee Club who identified my voice as a second soprano and gave me an actual place to fit.
· Life events and college classes brought on an awareness that there was a teacher in me, trying to get out. I think I might have been okay if I had pursued my original dream of nursing, but I absolutely loved teaching whether my students were in kindergarten, second grade, or junior high.
· In my last years of teaching junior high language arts, I began doing the writing assignments I gave my students with them and rediscovered my love of putting words on paper. The segue into writing in retirement seemed logical as some of the work I did with them found its way into publication.
· I am still a nerd, but now a very comfortable one. I just finished a field trip to Oakleigh Plantation and the Botanical Gardens in Mobile with a pleasant, interesting group of people. But if I’m totally honest, one of the best parts was having a seat by myself on the bus. You see, there was this book calling me to finish.
My conclusion:
To paraphrase Wordsworth just a bit, “The girl, it seems, is mother to the woman.” I look back at the fifteen-year-old I was and see foreshadowing of myself today.