I bet this photo took you off guard. I’ve been an activist and advocate since I was 14 years old. I grew up in Georgia, but in high school I was moved to rural Georgia. I immediately became confused about my new life in an area of the state I never planned on visiting, let alone living. So what now? Well I began to organize and strategize my way OUT of rural Georgia back to what I’d known as normal. Upon arriving back in Atlanta, I found myself with a myriad of random job offers. They helped shape who I am today, that’s for sure. I dropped out of high school and got my GED the same week. I did that because I knew life would never be easy for me. College wouldn’t fix that. My brain wasn’t wired to take that route. I soon found myself as a systems admin by the age of 23 years old. Then I moved onto programming where I fell in love with SQL and SAS. Who knew someone that despised math could learn how to program without the assistance of anything other than curiosity. I then found my way to Corporate America where my 18 year old self hated my 35 year old self. I have always had a healthy distrust of authority, so I never saw myself working for “the man” But hey, I accomplished even more there. Plus the benefits were amazing. Now I’m 46 years old trying to figure out what my next chapter of life will be.