Wanting to be seen as her own person and not compared to her older, popular sister, she pulled her knee socks on and borrowed a pair of her older sister’s chunky, whiskey colored platforms. The year was 1997 and knee socks had not been in since her mom was in high school in the late 1960’s. She was fascinated with clothes and decor from the 60’s. She owned a couple pairs of bell bottoms and a shirt from David’s Gallery in Gulf Shores she adored. A hemp necklace was usually around her neck. She had beads on her closet door and a peace poster on her wall from Spencer’s. She burned wax on her mom’s old wine bottles and lit incense. She preferred the Beatles to NSYNC or whatever boy band was playing on the air waves. She did, however, like Bush, it had been the first concert she ever attended. She had a crush on Gavin Rossdale.

A different beat played in her head than most kids her age. She was an old soul for 13. She yearned for acceptance of her peers but at the same time wanted to be different. Her first crush was the stereotypical type in sitcoms.. the quiet neighborhood boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. Now, in 7th grade, she had moved on.

Her smile, like most kids her age was full of metal- braces. She had long brown hair and skin that was tan from a summer at the pool- where she played with friends and checked out the boys, including the older one that was the lifeguard.

7th grade was full of changes- boys began to get taller than the girls. Girls began to carry purses. Couples started to go to Marengo Theatre to hold sweaty palms and kiss. This girl believed things were either right or wrong- there was no in between. She had refused to try a cigarette when others fell to peer pressure (as most kids do) and now add kissing to the list of things expected for couples. Sheesh.. this right and wrong thing was getting a little muddy in her mind.

And when that first kiss happened (when she decided it should happen and not to be told to do so by a group of chanting 7th graders behind someone’s house at a party full of blacklights and Dave Matthews playing in the background), this girl decided that there needed to be some wiggle room in this right and wrong thing. How could kissing be wrong?

This age of innocence, middle school, also taught her life lessons about disappointment, heartbreak, and that nothing ever stays the same. CD’s skip on portable players (why can’t they invent something better to play music?) You couldn’t get stuck if you kissed a guy who also had braces. Girls could be mean. Boys could be mean (not all of us were born with perfect teeth). Being cool is not really as “cool” as it seems and sometimes comes with a cost. Friends move. It costs money to call someone long distance. She learned that the Stones were right- “You can’t always get what you want but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need.”

Now, this girl of 35 looks back at those times and smiles (no braces). Not much has changed about her- she’s still listens to 60’s music (“Hey Alexa- play 60’s rock). She didn’t marry Gavin Rossdale but her husband is waay better than that.

She is still pretty adamant about what’s right versus what’s wrong but has to sometimes look for the middle. She looks at her two boys and wonders what their middle school years will be like. She will encourage them to be true to who they are. She will tell them about a girl she knew one time. She will play a little Bush (Sixteen Stone and Razorblade Suitcase albums of course).