Being FOR one another in challenging times

I have this “friend.” One of those special people that is supposed to be a mentee, instead she mentors me. She is a fan of these stories and thinks that I should not only keep writing them, but that I should be required to put a dorky picture of myself, as a kid or young adult, in each one. Quite the friend, eh?! Well I sure can pick ‘em!

In honor of this friend, I offer you this photo of your author in middle school.

Luckily, there is a bit more to this photo than the obvious analog era it was taken in (look at those rolled up maps above my head!) and my incredible fashion choices (please try not to hate.) This picture has a story behind it and I am so lucky to have it because cameras and photos were just not as prolific as they are today, and the odds of someone capturing this special time in my history were decidedly against me. You see, to me this is a perfect picture of someone being FOR someone else.

Ms. Makin, my 7th grade history teacher, saw someone who needed another person to be in favor of them when they thought they were the least favorable person on the planet. She wisely intervened and gave me “a job,” cleaning and prepping her classroom…