Mono Monday: (Not Just) Another Brick In The Wall

I consider myself to be a distinct individual, and I don't like to follow the crowd much.  I've never been an out-and-out rebel, but I definitely prefer to go my own way and to make my own decisions.  A lot of this is down to how Mum and Dad always encouraged me to be my own person, and to have opinions and viewpoints independently of theirs or anybody else's.

Another huge part of my early life was, of course, my school.  I am so very lucky that my parents picked St Hilda's as the place which chimed with the way they wanted their children to be educated and brought up, and I attended it from the age of 5 until I was nearly 16.  It was a unique place, where each pupil was helped to make the most of her abilities and to show an interest in the world around her, whilst also being guided towards kindness, consideration for others and good manners.  By the time I left the school, I believed that I could attain anything I wanted to in life if I was prepared to work hard for it.  This was in the mid-70's when women were still not generally expected to have much in the way of aspiration.  As those who've followed my journal know, I ended up having a wonderful career as a sound engineer at the BBC from the age of 17 until I turned 55 and took early retirement.  Thanks to the influence of my parents and school, it never occurred to me that aiming for such a "starry" job was impossible.  I will always be grateful to St Hilda's and to our headmistress, Mrs Tunnicliffe, who founded it between the two world wars.  She passed away several years ago, and sadly the school closed for good in September 2014 - a casualty of the recession.  I met up with many old classmates last year, and we agreed that the independent spirit of St Hilda's will live on in all of us.